The Inevitable
by Caprican
Summary: A/U: Voldemort controls most of the wizarding world after killing the boy-who-should-have-lived, Neville Longbottom. A story about what the world would have been if Harry wasn't the chosen one.
1. Nerves

The morning was brisk and crisp with the normal scents of a train station floating through the air. Familiarity rushed to him like an old friend welcoming him back for one last adventure. Despite the heavy atmosphere, Harry could feel his heart soaring up through the high rafters of Kings Cross Station. Sun was gently filtering through the high rafters and casting weary shadows across the huddled crowds in the nearly empty station. Harry could feel the tension in the air. People were dressed in muted colors and talk was whispered as they looked fleetingly over their shoulders cursing themselves for need to go out on that particular day. The security guard was eyeing everyone suspiciously, his wand sticking menacingly out of his belt where a gun should have been. No one would dare look the man in the eye for fear of being struck down.

But as Harry James Potter walked nonchalantly towards the wall that concealed platform nine and three-quarters surrounded by his family he couldn't shake off the excitement of his last year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Harry!" Lily whispered loudly, yanking on her oldest son's arm to slow his impatience. "Will you slow down, love, we need to lay low." Harry looked around impatiently, unable to stop the anticipation that was rising in the pit of his stomach at the prospect of seeing his best mate and the woman he hoped to make more. Inconspicuousness seemed less and less important.

"No worries, mum," he whispered back taking the heavy trolley loaded with trunks. "We're safe as lambs as soon as we get to the platform."

Worried, she looked around, noting every face in he immediate area before nodding. She touched her eldest son's cheek lovingly as he casually leaned against the barrier between platforms nine and ten letting his weight push the heavy cart through. Kate Lily Potter took the spot where her two-years-senior brother had just vanished. Her layered auburn hair was parted smartly on the side, a layer of thick bangs covering one of her brilliantly green eyes. She leaned casually against the wall and an instant later lazily slipped by as well.

"Okay, now David? You take your brother's other hand and the three of us will go all at the same time." The fifth year boy lifted his head, covered with dirty-blond hair that was so much like Lily's sister's hair, and took his youngest brother's hand with a roll of his eyes. Adam was wiggling with excitement at the thought of his first year at Hogwarts. He was nearly bouncing out of his skin. He looked quite like his eldest brother with the same unruly hair and bad eye sight, yet his eyes were the color of his father's causing him to be a near carbon copy of James Potter. Only the slight softening of his jaw line and quick temper betrayed the fact that Lily indeed had a place in him as well.

Once on the other side of the wall, Lily looked desperately around for her husband, checking her watch several times before she heard a small pop behind her. Immediately James wrapped his arms around his wife. Her shoulders relaxed against his chest as she dropped Adam's hand and hugged him close. "What took you so long?"

Kissing her nose, he replied, "Sorry, love, got caught up at the office. Is everyone safe?"

"For another year…"

He leaned let out the breath he had been unconsciously holding and grabbed his wife's hand and kissed his wife's hair tenderly. "That's all that matters."

She nodded and turned around, allowing her husband to comfort her against her best judgment. Both looked out over the scarlet steam engine that would soon be whisking their children away for another year of school. A strange air of thrill floated in the air as they watched Harry load their trunks one by one into a car. This would be their first year alone for longer than a week in seventeen years. James could feel the bittersweet emotions swimming in his wife's head as a silent tear slid down her face. She was happy to be entering this new journey of alone time with her husband, but she was also very aware of how lonely their large house would be without the noise of the four siblings filling the air. At least last year there had been Adam. She had to steel herself against the empty nest sadness that filled her.

The platform was emptier than the year before. Every year it became emptier and emptier. People who were still allowing their kids to attend the forbidden school of Hogwarts were growing thin as they were threatened by Deatheaters. Now that Voldemort's word was law and muggles were strictly controlled at the tip of a wand, being rebellious enough to send your kids to a school that had once openly opposed him was more than risky. So risky, that Dumbledore had publicly announced the school closed and set up a way—for the students whose parents were still brave enough—to let them attend. In fact, the Potters had been lying to people for years about sending their kids to a school in America. Most people didn't even bother to use the platform entrance anymore, but nostalgia kept them coming back through the original entrance year after year. The Ministry of Magic and Voldemort's followers barely bothered with guarding the platform anymore. Security was low, so getting aboard the scarlet engine was still relatively easy.

Even with all of the precautions, Deatheaters still surrounded Hogwarts Castle, though it was no longer visible to anyone marked by a dark mark or working for the Dark Lord. The balance was precarious, but so far it held. So it was with the comfort that their children would be under the car of Dumbledore and the other professors that the few remaining families on the platform kissed their kids farewell and prayed they would see them at Christmas Break.

Disappointed that he hadn't seen any of his friends on the platform, Harry steered his siblings onto the train to load their trunks before returning to say their goodbyes. By the time they were back, Lily was desperately trying to stay strong and not go to tears in front of her children and James was squeezing her shoulders comfortingly.

"Take care of yourself," James said, crouching so he was eye to eye with is youngest son. "Listen to your professors and your brothers and sister."

"Dad, is it true that there are secret passages and doors that pretend to be walls?"

"And there's a giant squid in the lake."

"Yeah, so don't fall in," Harry teased, ruffling the boy's hair.

"Yeah, don't even stand too close or we'll give you to him for a snack," Kate said, sneaking up behind him and poking him in the ribs.

"Hey!" he shouted batting at his brother. "Muuuuum! They said—"

But Lily never heard his complaints, because just then, the whistle sounded announcing the final boarding call. Harry hurried to give his mother a kiss on the cheek and his dad a one armed hug before turning to leave. The other three followed suit and they turned made their way back to the train.

The remaining students and their parents began to trickle back into the train and hang out the windows to say one last goodbye to their parents still on the platform. Slowly, the train began to gather steam, pulling out of the station. Parents began to apparate home, but Lily walked forward, tears falling down her cheeks. Her oldest son was about to enter the last part of his childhood, while her youngest was just beginning. In such uncertain times, she was happy that they even had a safe place to go to for schooling. Yet, as the train slipped out of sight and James was wrapping his arms around her and kissed her on the top of the head, she couldn't help but have the sinking feeling that everything was about to change.

"Be safe," she whispered into the cloud of steam, "I love you!"

~*\/*~


	2. Secrets

_**A/N: Wow! I was checking out the hits on this and I am super excited that it is being well recieved! ANywho, I just wanted to give you all a bit of insite into how I'm going to go about this. Firstly, I like the idea of having a little bit of a pinky hold inside of all of my character's heads, so although this is a Harry-centric story, expect to hear a little into the thoughts of others as well. I also have the first ten chapters of this written, so expect decently timed updates for a while. I am taking a little time to work out some kinks so I won't be doing two a day or anything, but this won't be one you have to wait months on. Nextly, obviously this is not cannon, but I am trying to respect the personalities of JKR's characters while taking liberty of how they would be different if thing had happened differently. I love feedback, so let me know if you think they were properly captured. Lastly, I will not be doing Author notes much in the future (for me they disrupt the flow of the story) but I will try to respond to major questions in them when confusion arrives. I will, however, try my best to coment back to you guys outside thie story and respond to as many messages as you can throw my way! Without further ado, please read on, rate, and review!!_

****Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter or any of JKR's characters. I do not make a profit off of this or any other chapter of this fan fiction.**

"Harry!"

Turning, all Harry could see was a flash of wavy brown hair before he was engulfed in a tight hug that nearly knocked the breath out of him. Recovering, he fought off a powerful blush as he felt his best friend press against him. "Hermione!" He spotted Ron over his shoulder trying to look nonchalant as he peered around for Kate. Harry cleared his throat as he and Hermione broke apart, and looked at his other best friend trying to puff himself up as the big brother.

"Whotcher Harry!" Ron said shaking his friends. "How was the summer?"

"Let's find us a compartment, shall we?"

All of them ducked into a compartment. David, already buried back in his book, bypassed them searching out his friends from Ravenclaw, while Kate and Adam attempted to follow he, Hermione and Ron into the compartment. "What are you doing?" Harry said defensively, barring the door.

"This has to do with me too!" Kate said outraged.

"No it doesn't."

"But—" Adam began.

At that moment, Ginny pushed her way into the room and sat next to a smiling Hermione. "Hey, if she can come so can I!" Kate stamped, pushing her way through.

Harry rolled his eyes, but caught his youngest brother by the arm and pushed him out. "Listen, mate, I need to talk to them about some stuff that you are too young to hear. Why don't you go find David?"

"But Har-ry!" he whined in protest. "I don't want to be seen with a Ravenclaw! How will I ever make friends!?" Several students a few feet away gave the two an offended look as they snapped their compartment door shut with an audible snap.

"Well you aren't going to make any friends with that attitude, now get going!" Without further ado, he closed the compartment door.

Turning to the others he met, Hermione's disapproving look.

"What?" he shrugged.

"Is this really all that secret a meeting that you had to ostracize your little brother?"

With a quiet arrogance, he shrugged and sprawled himself against the seat leaning his head on her shoulder flirtatiously. "Oh, come on, 'Mione! I know you didn't want my little brother soaking up all of my attention, now did you?"

Turning slightly red she playfully pushed his head off her shoulder. She couldn't help marvel at how like in personality Harry and his Godfather had turned out to be. Both had an easy grace and charm about them. Though Harry seemed to be a natural leader, he also carried the need for adventure and arrogant ease of a teenager that had absolutely no fear. Harry's well known arrogance had landed him in trouble more than once as he had been caught dating more than one person at a time. Hermione could barely believe his audacity as she listened to him relay tales of his conquests to Ron. Yet somehow, she couldn't seem to keep from falling victim to his charms when he batted his eyelashes at her. She was hopeless. He was incorrigible.

It didn't take long for them to find the other two boring and vacate their shared compartment to find the third leg of their trio, Luna Lovegood. Ron, who had been busying himself trying to make smooth conversation with a blushing Kate, now leaned closer to Harry as the two younger girls left. "So, what did you want to tell us?"

Harry sidled forward on his seat. "Well, there is some bad stuff going down with You-Know-Who. My Dad and Sirius have been on assignment all summer, very hush with the Order, he can't even tell mum. They have been pretty much sneaking in and out of the place the whole summer, coming home with gashes of broken limbs or looking sickly. They even took the house elf with them once and she was so shaken up when she got back that she couldn't work for a whole week." Hermione gave an involuntary snort at the mention of the house elf. Ron, who was obviously flashing back to his father's death three years previous, ignored her and wrinkled his brow with concern as Harry went on. "Well, that was bad enough, but last week he came home like we've never seen him before.

"He and Sirius were running about the house and shoving stuff into a huge trunk. My mom was asking what was wrong, but he wouldn't answer he just kept packing, his face as white as a sheet. It wasn't until Sirius announced that we would be staying with him for the rest of the holiday that we even knew we were moving."

"Moving?" Hermione asked, her brow furrowed in concern. "Why?"

"I dunno," Harry sighed in frustration. "All Dad would say is, 'The house in Godric's Hollow isn't safe anymore.' Dumbledore is setting us up in a new place as we speak."

"Blimey!" Ron burst out, running his hands through his nearly shoulder length ginger locks. "Where do you reckon they'll set you guys up in the meantime? I mean where's safe?"

Harry shook his head. "They won't tell us."

"What?" Hermione and Ron said in unison.

"Yeah, we aren't even going to know where they are until we head home for the holidays. They don't want to risk the word accidentally getting out." Harry's thoughts wandered to his youngest brother Adam. Not that the boy was blabber mouth on purpose, he was just a little…a little…well, little. He was susceptible to the common problem that plagued all youth: believing that everyone was good and safe. There were dangers even inside Hogwarts. The boy had no fear and was simply confident in the inherent honesty of all authority figures. Therefore, he was the weak link in a very thin chair that seemed to barely suspend the Potters, and all of the people in the anti-Voldemort, over the chasm of life and death. "They will be putting the rest of the protective enchantments on the place that way when we get there everything is secure."

Both parties nodded.

"What do you think happened?" Hermione asked in a hushed voice.

He squeezed her leg and took out his wand, twirling it lightly in between his fingers like a baton. Gold sparks flew lazily out of its tip throwing of a miniature light show. Slowly, Harry let the question marinate in his mind as he let his gaze wander out the window. Rain was slowly beading off of it as storm clouds let out their fury on the unperturbed train. His heart was heavy with worry for his family, and though he had his theories, there seemed to be no relief for the need for action. The face of his carefree younger sister with her wit sharpened tongue, David, his face perpetually buried in one tome or another content to let the conflicts of the world pass him by, and finally the face Adam with his hopeful eyes, and willful nature all swam through his head. With a sigh, he put his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, his unscarred brow furrowing with tension. He shook his head. "That's the problem. I don't know."

~*\/*~


	3. Plans

"Welcome, all of you, to another year at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore boomed cheerfully out over the half full Great Hall. A hush fell as all of the students steadied their eyes on the wizened old wizard. "Now that the sorting has been sorted and hunger has been sated, I would like to make a few start-of-term announcements. Firstly, Mr. Filch would like me to remind you of the newly updated list of banned items has been expanded to include several products from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The complete list is posted outside of Mr. Filch's office and you are all free to peruse it at your leisure. Secondly, the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students as is the village of Hogsmeade. Lastly, I would like to take a moment to warn you that standards have been raised this year at Hogwarts. Because of the strain that has been put upon the school, we will no longer be able to tolerate low marks in classes. Those of you who cannot apply yourselves in regular courses will be moved into remedial classes. You will only be able to pass back with your class once you have passed both written and practical exams and can prove that you are able and willing to deal with the heavy course load.

"These are dangerous times we are living in and though we all hope that soon there will be light at the end of the tunnel, it would be naive of us not to prepare you for the worse. Real danger lurks outside the walls of this castle. Use Hogwarts as your armory.

"Now, without further filling your minds with worry, I would like to remind you that your featherbeds are quite devoid of dark wizards. So off to bed! Pip pip!"

It was as if someone had turned on the water faucet of noise as a ruble of voices filled the hall. Hermione immediately stood up, and shouted over Gryffindor table. "First years! My name is Hermione Granger and I am Head Girl! Please, follow me and stay close! Everyone else, stay close so you can hear the password!" Along the hall prefects were following her example and gathering their first years. Harry could just make out David, his chest puffed up with self-importance a gleaming new prefects badge pinned to his Ravenclaw robs. It was only here that his brother, looking so unlike the Potters and so much more like Aunt Petunia, came out of his shell and truly shone.

Ron hung back and walked flirtatiously next to Kate, his prefect's badge slightly more smudged. Absentmindedly, he prodded a few slow moving first years in the back of the head as he let his attention drift back to Harry's sister. Quietly flexing his quidditch-toned muscles in anger, Harry resisted socking his best friend for looking at his sister only restraining himself when he saw that his sister seemed to reciprocate the emotions with a light blush. Though he had been trying to ignore the obvious exchange of feeling between the two, Harry was finding it hard to pay no heed. His protective brother bear side growled angrily at them.

"—to skip this step!" She was projecting over the crowd. "If you get stuck in that one, you will be there until someone can pull you back out. This is yet another reason to travel in pairs in the castle when you can." Turning to Harry she flashed him a smile, thoroughly enjoying herself. Harry smiled back, giving her a wink and looked quite pleased with himself when she blushed prettily. "We are almost to the common room now," she continued pulling back a tapestry and turning down a corridor that seemed to lead to nowhere. "The password for this quarter is 'Ursa Major'." With that, the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open to reveal the common room of Gryffindor Tower.

Harry caught sight of his youngest brother following the first year boys up their dormitory. His chest puffed up at the site of him. He was so proud of his younger brother for making Gryffindor. The house was a proud family tradition that went back generations--well, save for David. A sigh escaped Harry as he sat down in a chair next to the fire. There was something about that first year, discovering all the things that you had been told about, but could never quite believe. It almost made Harry envy his younger brother with his life stretched out before him.

_If Voldemort doesn't take it away,_ he thought morosely. The shaddow of his parent's sudden move ghosted over the room's warm atmosphere turning Harry's insides to ice_. _He let his thoughts wander, barely noticing when the common room was almost empty.

"So," said Ron, sinking into a chair across from Harry next to the fire, "another year, eh?"

Harry nodded and shifted as Hermione sat next to him. "Everyone's in bed, finally," she said absentmindedly, not noticing Harry's stupor.

Ron was examining his best mate's face quizzically. He could see the wheels turning in his mate's mind. "What are we going to do?" His mind was on the previous year when Mr. Weasley had been killed in the line of fire. Things then had started out the same way that things were going for Harry. If he could have done anything to save his father, Ron would have, so he could understand the determined look he wore.

"I don't know how much time we will have to do anything. With the doubled studies, Quidditch, and everything else, I have no idea how we are going to do anything." Harry ran his hand over his scarless forehead and through his messy hair.

"Have you tried speaking to your father about this, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah right!" Ron snorted. "Obviously you have no idea how tight lipped they can be about Order business. We would be more likely to find out what's going on from a Deatheater."

"He's right, I tried, but..." Harry let his sentence fall off as he saw the look on Hermione's face.

A light seemed to flicker behind her eyes. Harry loved that flicker when he was out of ideas. "Actually," Hermione said biting her lip. It pained her to think she was about to propose the rule breaking she was about to suggest. "I think I might have a plan. It is kind of long term though."

They waited for her to finish before Ron finally prompted, "Well??"

"I think that we should do some night time prowling around Hogsmeade."

"Hogsmeade?" Harry looked at her sideways. "Why?"

She rolled her eyes at him in a very Hermione-ish way. "Honestly, Harry, don't you see it? Hogsmeade is a major hub for Death Eaters. Now that they don't have to hide, they are getting cocky. Plus, since Dumbledore preformed those enchantments on Hogwarts to make it invisible to all those who aren't in the resistance, they have been hanging around an awful lot, just waiting for someone to slip up and reveal its location."

"So if they are getting careless—" Harry began.

"—then they might let something slip!" Ron concluded excitedly.

"Exactly! So if we can patrol Hogsmeade, we might be able overhear something and send word to your parents!"

"We would be in loads of trouble if anyone were to find out what were doing. You know that they don't want us in harms way," Ron said with a smile that indicate he couldn't care less how many rules they were breaking. "Not to mention if anyone in the castle catches us and they are on the other side of the fence. I mean, some of the Slytherin guys in our year are questionable at best. I wonder myself sometimes if they are spying on _us _for their parents."

Harry nodded. "I think it sounds brilliant, 'Mione!" He gave her one armed hug. "We can only go out once a week or so, but this could be it!" But as quickly as the happiness came, it was nearly snuffed out. "There's only one problem."

"What's that?"

"Sirius. He's going to be our DADA teacher this year."

"Do you think he told Dumbledore about the passages?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know." Harry let a mischievous grin spread across his face. "But there's one way to find out!"

~*\/*~


	4. Library

***A/N*: I won't distract you for long, but I just wanted to let you guys know that I have the next few chapters already written, but I have limited internet access over the weekend. I will try to keep posting daily but no promises. Also, I did quite a bit of editing on this after I uploaded it to so it might have some typos. My appologies! XOXO R&R!!!!**

However, over the next few days, the trio was unable to make any headway with their Hogsmeade stakeout. Dumbledore had not been kidding about their workload being increased. Already prepared for extra work, the golden trio was in no way expecting their expectations to be blown away. Potions, always a nasty two hours with Snape, had turned into torture as he had prohibited bringing textbooks to class. At the end of every class, he would write the name of a potion on the board for the next class. When they came in the next class, they were expected to have memorized the potion to be tested by the end of the class. Charms was now covering using several different spells at once to create a specific reaction in an inanimate object which resulted in long hours of homework trying to make sure the spells were in exact alignment. If they were off by even a single factor, the whole spell would collapse--usually with disastrous results. Even Sirius, who was adapting well to his new position as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, was challenging them. He had cleared out all of the desks from the classroom and had dueling in every class. In addition to the dueling they were required to study the logistics of why certain curses lead to certain results. This meant deconstructing entire spells and writing essays on why one more swish of the wand created more firepower than one less. Even Hermione, who usually held up well under the pressure of class--flourished even--was showing signs of wear. However, none of their other classes could compare to the difficulty that everyone was no facing in their already challenging class of Transfiguration.

"I can't do it! I just can't!" Ron whined as he sat across from Harry in class one day. They had just begun human transformation and were practicing on their partners. The object was to turn Harry into a guinea pig. So far he had only succeeded in covering his friend in vast quantity of silky black and white hair.

"Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall said from across the room, quickly de-furring Harry with the flick of her wand. "You must focus and say the enchantment correctly. You are using too much arm movement. It is all in the wrist."

There was a sudden outburst of applause as Hermione successfully turned Dean Thomas into a long hair guinea with hair that looked as if he had just stepped out of a wind tunnel.

"Very good, Miss Granger!" McGonagall commended. "Ten points to Gryffindor." She turned back to Harry and Ron. "Now, your turn Mr. Potter."

Harry took out his wand and within seven tries had successfully turned Ron into a…hamster. The whole class had burst out in laughter as Harry stood on his chair and bowed deeply; gaining a sour look from Professor McGonagall, though he could swear that he saw the corners of her stern mouth turn up in a smile as she put Ron right.

Thirty minutes later, they were laughing as they walked down the corridor to dinner. "It was close!" Harry defended between laughs.

"No, mate, not even close!" Ron laughed.

"You just need a little work," Hermione encouraged. "Come on, let's go to the library. We can work on it."

Harry shrugged, still trying to wipe tears from his eyes. "Why not? Herbology isn't for another three hours and maybe we can plan out when we can start our mission."

Ron looked slightly awkward. "Actually, I can't, I've got...er…plans."

"Plans?" Both said, curiously.

"Yeah, catch you later." Without further explanation, he turned on his heel and sped in the other direction.

"What was that about?" Hermione wondered aloud.

"No clue."

"Oh well, shall we library?"

"Right-o!" Harry said with false enthusiasm, using it as a excuse to wrap his arm around the slender girls shoulders.

Hermione blushed profusely and turned the corner into the library.

#-#-#-#

Without Ron around, Harry had thought that being trapped up in the library alone with Hermione burried in her books would be boring beyond belief. However, when he wasn't busy trying to be bored with Ron, he actually found himself enjoying the study sessions. Hermione seemed to be right in her element as she taught him not only about the spells themselves, but clarified the why's of how they worked. Harry was constantly flabberghasted at her brilliance. Every time he had been alone with her before, he had spent his time ceaselessly flirting with her to see how many times he could make her blush, which usually caused her to clam up. Now that he was actually paying attention, he couldn"t help but marvel at her brilliance and sharp wit. Conversation seemed to flow easily with her when she was in her comfort zone and the tme flew by.

The following night, while waiting for Ron, the topic of their trips to Hogsmeade resurfaced. After getting thorugh some of the specifics, they grew tired of waiting for Ron and headed back for Gryffindor Tower without him.

"So, Saturday night?" Hermione confirmed.

"Yeah, I think that's best. Only two of us will be able to fit under the cloak though, so it will probably have to Ron and me. If we're caught, it's more likely that we won't get sent to the camps." Harry shuddered at the thought of Hermione being sent to the camps that muggleborn witches and wizards were being rounded up into. A lot of people who went in never came back out. His father had brought home stories of those who _had_ been liberated from the camps and most of them were never the same again.

"I understand." They walked on in silence for a few more moments, both thinking about the turmoil of the outside. "I actually thought you migh say that, so I thought up a plan of how I can go with you guys witout actually _going with you_." She reached into her pocket and brought out a small Gryffindor lion lapel pin and held it up for Harry to look at.

"What's this?" he asked, taking it and examining it more closely.

"It will record everything you witness so we can review it later, see if there is anything you might have missed." She pulled out a matching pair of gold and scarlet scarves with the Gryffindor lion blazing on the ends. "With these, you will be able to talk to me while you are out. No one but you two will be able to hear my responses but I will be able to hear everything that is going on around you."

Harry took them in his hand and gave Hermione a quick kiss on the cheek before laughing heartily. "You are a bloody brilliant, you know that right?"

Flustered, she simply blushed and, muttering the password to the Fat Lady who was now dozing cozily in the fame of her portrait. Hermione clamored through and made a beeline for the small couch by the fire that they always took over in the evenings after a hard day of lessons.

Ron was already sprawled in one of the high wingback chairs, his arms crossed lazily behind his head. His blue-grey eyes were fixed on the flickering flames as if he wasn't seeing them at all. A small smile was teasing at the corners of his mouth as Hermione came up and sat next to him. "Nice of you to join us in the _library_, you know, like you _promised_," Hermione said as she sat down pulling out her books and wasting no time in spreading them out on the coffee table in front of her. The heat in her voice drew Ron from his revere.

"Sorry," he said, still smiling. "I was busy."

"With what?" Harry asked, taking his seat next to Hermione.

"So," Ron said ignoring the question, turning to face his best friends, "have you guys come up with a plan?" Harry could swear he saw the tips of Ron's ears go pink as they poked out from under his long red hair.

Hermione was still giving him an inquisitive look, but pressed on nonetheless. "We did, no thanks to you."

"Listen I'm sorry, okay? I was just—"

"Busy," they finished in unison.

"Well, we decided that it would be you two to," she indicated, "that would do the actual sleuthing. But I devised a couple of things that would help me keep in contact with you both just in case." She handed him the scarf and lapel pin, explaining what each one did.

"That's brilliant, 'Mione!"

"So I've been told, but anyway—"

They were up most of the night talking about all of the details. Hermione enjoyed meticulously planned everything about the entire mission from what they would wear (to which Ron protested loudly saying they would be under the Invisibility cloak the entire time), to where they would go and how long they would stay for. The thrill of adventure shot through Harry at the thought of an adventure. Adrenaline pumped through his veins at the idea of doing something so against the rules on so many levels. He thrived on it. After all he was his father's son. Even Hermione's meticulous nagging planning, which now that he was back with Ron seemed utterly annoying, couldn't dampen his spirits. He was saving his family and that was all that mattered.

Through the night, the trio had pulled out their heavy textbooks, rolls of parchment, and quills at the insistence of Hermione but none of them were paying much attention to the mountains of homework. By three in the morning, everything was set and Harry had to admit he was impressed. Not only did it offer them a way safely spy in everyone, but it left room for future missions—which they were likely to need.

So as Friday slowly melted into Saturday, there seemed to be no doubt in their minds that they would find out exactly what they needed to know.

~*\/*~


	5. Whispers

**A/N: I know I said I wouldn't be doing this very often, but I lied. Sorry! I just wanted to give you guys a heads up that I am going to post the next two chapters today because I want you to see that this is going somewhere. I promise I have an end in mind and I hope you will stick with me. This chapter starts the official plot. The next few will start the romance parts between our two lovely main characters. The reason that it is so stretched out is because I wanted to give you a feel of the difference in personality the characters have in this story as opposed to a universe where Harry's the Chosen One. I am hoping this will make them seem more believeable. let me know if I am succeeding or failing miserably. **

**One last note, the M raiting will start in with the the romance parts. If that is what you are waiting on, trust me, it's coming! Thanks for your patience! Please R&R!!**

"Ouch!" Ron whispered, muffling a curse in his scarf.

"What happened?" Hermione's voice sounded worriedly through the scarves.

"Nothing, 'Mione," Harry muttered exasperated. "He stubbed his toe."

It had been less than thirty minutes since they had left for Hogsmeade. Hermione was hold up in her dormitory with the doors locked. Wards were set up on the stairs and would surely tell her of the arrival of anyone. Yet she could not quell her nerves. She had already asked them over fifty times what was happening when she heard them trip or stumble under the cloak that the two had all but outgrown. "I'm sorry," she hissed. A book was large book was spread open on her bed. One side showed the view from Harry's lapel pin and the other Ron's. However, she was only able to make things out every once in a while as their movement was making everything blurry. The darkness in the passage didn't help either. "You guys need to walk more smoothly! I can't see a thing!"

Ron's annoyance with her was obvious. "We _know_ Hermione!"

"Sorry!" she apologized again, chewing on her thumbnail.

"Now cut it! We're coming to the end of the tunnel."

It had taken them longer than usual to get to the shop that had once been Honeydukes. The place still smelled sweet enough to send a diabetic into a coma, but it was mixed with the stench of mold, dust, and the vague sense that something in the room was rotting. Harry remembered when they had used the passage that his father had told him about in their first year to sneak in and swipe sweets. Then, the store above them had been filled with life. Dust had rained down on them as they crossed the room as it fell back from the stomping feet above them. A gentle rumbling lent life to the warm shadows of the cellar. Everything was now quiet and cold and stale. When the owner and his wife were killed, they had taken all of the love with them, leaving nothing but an empty shell.

The dust in the shop was so thick in the shop above that they left a trail of awkward footprints that were only slightly obscured by the trailing cloak. Brightly colored sweets were bleached with age and most seemed to have been chewed on by various animals over the years. As they made their way over to door, someone walked across the light casting them into shadow.

"Any movement in there yet?" A gruff male voice asked.

"None yet," came another voice, slightly higher and more nervous then the first.

"It's only a matter of time. Keep your eye out and your ears clear. I doubt they would come unconcealed." The first man sighed and shifted his weight.

"Bloody waste of time as far as I'm concerned," the second man spat. "I don't think there is a passage under this bloody shop. Hogwarts is gone."

"Nothing disappears, Malfoy, nothing, you hear? So if our Master wants to take the rat's advice who are we to question Him? He is all powerful and we are but humble servants who are lucky to walk in His shadow."

There was a moment of silence. Ron and Harry barely breathed as they waited, not having expected to be greeted right out of the gate. A few moments later, Malfoy continued, "I understand the importance of finding a way into the school, but what would he assign _me_ here for? I would have though that one of the new recruits would have been more than sufficient to watch over this. I deserve at least a supervisory job, Avery, and you know it! This is an insult to the purity of my blood."

Avery chuckled. "Perhaps he thinks that you are thinking a little too much of your wings, Lucifer."

Malfoy snorted. "Any other news?"

"Nothing I can say here. I hear your son is turning some heads as an apprentice at the Muggle Control office."

"He is a good boy."

"You made a good decision teaching him at home. You can't imagine some of the things that Crabbe's boy is being forced to swallow at Durmstrang."

Malfoy made a noise of agreement before letting the silence between them grow uncomfortably drawn out.

"Indeed," Avery stepped back a couple of feet. "I have to be going to the others. Remember what you do if you find something?"

They could almost hear Malfoy roll his eyes. "I remember."

"Good man." With that Avery strode off.

Harry and Ron were barely breathing under the safety of the cloak. They shot each other a worried look under the cloak. Harry put a hand firmly on Ron's upper arm feeling the tense muscles twitch with his touch. He jerked his head and began to pull Ron back to the basement stairs, pulling his wand and concentrating harder than ever on an unspoken concealment charm to cover their tracks.

Once they were safely back below the trap door, they gratefully pulled off the cloak, both sweating profusely. "So I guess that our trips are out," Hermione said.

"I guess so," Harry said, leaning up against the stone wall and sliding down to a seated position on the floor.

"Well, that was bloody useless," Ron huffed, sitting across from Harry and letting his head rest against the cold stone.

"Actually, it was fairly enlightening," Hermione uttered.

"What are you on about?"

"Don't you see?" she said impatiently. "There is a mole in the Order, someone who knows about all of the secret passages in and out of the castle."

"That could be anyone, though," Ron whined.

"No, Ron, it couldn't. As far as I know, only those who have had access to the Marauder's Map would have known about those passages. They aren't even in _Hogwarts, A History._ Filch doesn't even know about the passage into Honeydukes. That one has only been discovered by nine people that I know of."

"You aren't suggesting that it was one of the Marauders, Fred or George?" Harry burst, frustrated. "You aren't suggesting my dad or any of my uncles are you?"

"Or my brothers?"

" Well it wasn't one of us, was it? It had to be one of them, and someone has to know!"

"Who are we going to tell?" Harry asked. "Who will believe us?"

"Maybe we should talk to Professor Black."

Harry laughed. "If we tell Sirius, he will take the Map, and then we won't be able to do this at all."

"I think it's a little late for that," A said a couple feet down the passage.

Ron and Harry jumped up so quickly that they both hit their heads on the ceiling of the low passage. In front of them, none other than Sirius Black slid into the light of their wands and out of the shadow. His face was stern, but his eyes held a strange mixture of pride, disapproval, and mischief.

~*\/*~


	6. Scolded

Harry and Ron sagged into the two hard chairs in front of Professor Black's huge cherry desk. The lanky professor went around to the other side and leaned back in the large leather wingback, putting his feet lazily on the shiny desktop. His grey eyes were fixed on his godson's, amusement fighting its way to the surface as he looked at the frustrated young man. It was hard for him to fight his amusement when he looked at the two in front of him. They reminded him so much of himself and James in the good old days. Fighting the urge to clap the perturbed young man on the back and give him a pat on the back for mischief well managed. Putting on the most authoritative attitude he could muster, he began the questioning. "So," he said, folding his hands behind his head, "care to explain?"

"Not really," Harry muttered, his voice icy.

Sirius cringed a bit. Harry had been angry with him ever since he and the rest of the Potters had come to live at his house that summer. He suspected that Harry was angry with him for refusing his pleas for information. It was Order secrets, confidential, he had told the young man, who continued to argue for over an hour. James, Lily and he had agreed that it would be best to keep Harry and the other children in the dark. Still, he sighed heavily as he was pierced with a glare that was so like Lily's. "Come, now Harry, what was that about?"

Ron was sitting silently watching the exchange, his eyes shifting between the two uncomfortably. Confusion showed on his face at his best friend's indifference to his godfather. They had always gotten on so well. "How did you find us?" Ron asked cautiously breaking the silence.

Sirius pulled out a large sheet of parchment, laying it carefully on the otherwise empty desktop. Ron looked down to a slightly newer version of the marauders map. It was quite a bit larger, however, and took up most of the desktop. All of the same corridors were spreading out lazily across the far right hand side of the map, only a few dots drifting lazily about the white background. However, where their map ended with pathways leading off and down to Hogsmeade, there was now a completely new portion of the map. Hogsmeade now glowed with an outline of green denoting all of the buildings that any secret passageway. Harry, turned away from his glaring finally looked down at the new and improved map. There, in front of Honeydukes, Malfoy was still pacing back and forth in front of the door.

"Where did you get this?" Harry asked, fascinated beyond his anger.

"The same place you got yours, Mr. Potter, I made it. Now, answer the question. What were you doing in Hogsmeade?"

The sound of his godfather calling him 'Mr. Potter' stung more then he was willing to let on. He renewed his anger as a shield. "Why did we have to move suddenly this summer?" Harry countered.

Sirius had to hand it to him. The boy had cheek. "You know I can't tell you that, Harry."

"Right," Harry said, nodding and dropping eye contact. "I'm too young. That might have worked this summer in front of the other kids, Sirius, but I'm seventeen. I'm of age."

"You may be, but I am still bound by a promise made with your mother and father."

"SIRIUS! MY FAMILY IS IN DANGER AND NO ONE WILL TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, standing.

Ron looked up at his friend with wide eyes.

Definitely his mother's temper, Sirius thought. "What were you doing out of bed?"

Harry ran his hands through his hair. "What do you think? I was trying to find out _something_."

"From whom?"

"Obviously not from the people I trust!" he spat, and began to pace.

"Harry—"

"_Sirius!_ I am old enough to help! I just need to be given the chance."

"You want a chance?"

Harry stopped, meeting his godfather's eye and nodded.

It had come to this. _James owes me so much_, he thought to himself. Inwardly Sirius was already hating himself for what he was about to do. Taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders and stood. His eyes were steeled. "You expect me to give you a chance to help save your family? You expect me to trust you? Give you _secret_ information? _Sit down!_" he hissed dangerously. Harry sat like a scolded puppy.

"Your family, the one you so eagerly want to protect, could have been compromised tonight. You snuck out of school. You risked the safety of yourself, your siblings, not to mention the exposure of the entire school! Harry, you just proved to me that you are so far from ready. For Merlin's sake, you just threw a _tantrum_!" He ran his hands through his shoulder length hair. Harry looked guiltily down at his shoes. "Listen to me, I am going to be watching you for the next few months. If you can turn around from this teenage spoiled brat angst that you have been throwing my way for something that is not my fault and prove to me that you are ready to be the man that your father needs his son to be right now, I will write to your father on your behalf."

Looking up, green eyes met grey and understanding cooled the heat of the room. Harry nodded. Sirius turned his eyes to Ron, who quickly nodded as well. James never let Sirius forget how important being a best friend was. Sirius wasn't about to let Ron forget either.

"Now," Sirius let the façade of angry mentor fall and settled back into the comfort of his large wingback chair, "I know you learned something. Pray, tell?"

~*\/*~

**A/N: So chapter four? Yeah I thought I posted that three days ago and accidentally didn't hit the post button. I'm so sorry! Alright one more chapter and then I have to get writing some more. Enjoy!**


	7. Past

**A/N: Okay, mates! This is my last update for the day. We are going to switch characters for this one. MAJOR plot info in this one. Read on and enjoy! Please R&R!**

"This is quite impressive," Dumbledore mumbled, looking down at the wide open book that was spread over top of a heap of unread papers that littered his desk. On the pages, the book displayed the images and a conversation spoken nonchalantly between two Deatheaters. The spell was simple and effective—in other words, it was pure genius. Again, Dumbledore prodded the page, listening intently to the conversation again as the people in front of him looked on tensely. "And this information was gathered by young Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley?" He inquired, looking over his half-moon spectacles at Sirius Black.

"Yes," Sirius confirmed, continuing to pace along one of the many knick knack filled shelves.

"What were they doing out of bounds?" Minerva McGonagall asked, appalled that anyone could risk a visit to the village when they were all on strict lockdown.

"They were trying to spy on the Deatheaters to see if they could find out anything about the Lily and James's situation," Sirius explained.

The headmaster gave him a knowing look. "Alas, though I do not approve of their methods, I cannot say I am not glad that they made this discovery. It appears that we have a double agent in our midst that is leaking valuable information. Apparently, it was also someone who knows a great deal about the school. I do certainly have my suspicions on who that might be, but I would be happy to entertain some suggestions." He peered silently around at the six people on the other side of his desk.

James shook his head, putting an arm around his wife. Any of the possibilities he could come up with in his head seemed as unlikely as the next. Sirius, Remus, Peter and he were among the few that knew about the passages. Remus had been dead for a little over three months. That left Sirius and Peter, since he knew himself to be innocent, but he could no more suspect either of them then suspect himself. He trusted the two completely. The three remaining marauders exchanged reassuring glances to one another before looking to Molly, the mother of the only two known others that knew of the passage. She looked obviously offended.

"You are not suggesting that the twins—"

But Dumbledore cut across her, trying to quell the situation before it began. "Molly, dear, I don't think that any of us are suggesting that Fred and George had anything to do with this. We cannot go about accusing the few people that we can trust of betrayal. I agree that the news is disturbing, but anyone could be responsible. I would trust that we are not arrogant enough to think that our small pool of people are only people to know the secrets of Hogwarts. What we should focus on now is not accusation, but gathering more information." He cleared his throat audibly, calling Sirius's pacing to a halt. "Now, I don't think that these kids had a bad idea about gathering information in this manner. The Deatheaters are becoming more and more cocky and careless by the day. I think it would be a good idea to put some people on this. Who do we have to spare?"

McGonagall looked down a list that she had clutched on her lap. "It looks like we have Nyphadora Tonks available, as well as Dedelus Diggle. Perhaps they could take shifts?"

"That sounds like a fitting plan." He clapped his hands together and stood. "Now, I would like to thank you all for coming here tonight. I think that will be all. I will see you all at the meeting on Friday."

Nodding and murmuring farewells, the small group began to file out of the office. James and Lily caught Sirius at the door and immediately began to whisper concerns as they went through the door.

Dumbledore waited until everyone had left before slumping back into his chair. He removed his spectacles and massaged the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. Nothing, it seemed was ever easy. He let his mind wander back seventeen years pervious to the Three Broomsticks and a particularly disturbing interview with a frazzled witch who seemed to be a very incompetent seer. He remembered how her muscles had become ridged and she had delivered the prophecy that had seemed so important. From that moment, he had taken it into his own hands to call take as many precautions as possible to protect the Potters and the Longbottoms, yet his gut had led him to believe that it would surely be the Potters that he chose.

Not for the first time, Dumbledore had been wrong.

Voldemort had chosen the Longbottoms.

The call had been devastating. Frank and Alice had been killed in the middle of the night. Unlike the Potters, they had not been granted the protection of the Fidelius Charm. It wasn't needed. There was no way that he would choose them. Though the Longbottoms were as powerful, it seemed more logical that James, Lily, and Harry were more tempting targets. Yet the Longbottoms had been chosen. They had fallen. And, Voldemort had destroyed the baby boy with out more then a flick of his wand and the muttering of a curse. Dumbledore remembered arriving on the scene and seeing the darkmark floating ominously above the ruins of their house, casting its haunting green glow over the neighborhood. But for him, the mark did not only mean that three tragic deaths had take place, but also that hope for a wizard who would one day take Voldemort out as his equal, had been lost in the rubble as well. So, he had doubled the protection of the Potter Family, though the enemy that might have been was never to be. The prophecy had been fulfilled. Harry was safe. The Fidelius Charm over the Potters held, with Remus as their secret keeper.

Then, not four years ago, the old headmaster had received a tip from a very cowardly source. It was on a very dark and unusually dreary summer's night that a very drunk Horace Slughorn had knocked on the door of Dumbledore's home. Dumbledore had ushered him in with concern rising. It had been years since he had seen the man. This was quite a surprise. Horace kept saying over and over again, "It's all my fault! It's all my fault!"

Only after hours of coaxing had Dumbledore been able to glean from the portly man the devastating truth of the great lengths his enemy had gone to in order to reach immortality. Horace Slughorn had for many years been the sole living person who knew the secret to Lord Voldemort's undoing and he hadn't even known it. Perhaps all hope wasn't lost.

Upon learning of Voldemort's Horcruxes, Dumbledore had immediately jumped to action, desperately trying to equalize the playing field so that if not he, then someone, might one day rid the world of the greatest evil it had ever known. From early on, he had decided to go about the mission on his own. The importance forbade him from allowing anyone to help him. If they were somehow betrayed, and Voldemort were notified that his secret had been revealed, there might be no stopping him. Only occasionally did he enlist the help of others, when he couldn't accomplish the tasks on his own. But none of them ever knew what they were doing for long. No one could parallel the Headmaster at memory spells. He hated corrupting his followers minds, but what choice had he? Dumbledore would not trust that information to anyone, no matter how loyal they appeared to be.

His suspicions seemed to be well founded when several months earlier, Remus Lupin—secret keeper to the Potters—had been killed in an undercover mission by his very creator: Fenrir Greyback. Upon his death, Remus's secret keeper status had been passed down to all those who over the course of the years had been entrusted with the Potter's location. It was a very short list, needless to say. So when James had encounter with a group of Deatheaters less than a week later, and they had mentioned how pretty Lily looked when she slept, Dumbledore's worst fears had been confirmed. The Potters had uprooted themselves and a new charm had recently been cast, but that didn't discount the fact that there was a spy in the Order of the Phoenix. Perhaps Voldemort knew nothing of why the Potters had been hidden, but it wouldn't take him long to connect their eldest son to the long dead prophecy. To be quite frank, Dumbledore had no idea what the man would do with such information. So, to keep the family safe, he had moved the family, still keeping secret of the prophecy that could have been from them.

Yes, there was a spy among them. If he had not been sure before, the dialogue he had heard only minutes ago seemed to confirm the presence of a spy conclusively.

Dumbledore replace his spectacles once more and closed the heavy tome, placing it in a top drawer of his desk as he pondered the next move of the Dark Lord. Would he go after the Potters? It was likely that, given the chance, Voldemort would move to remove the threat no matter how remote it was. And, with numbers of Voldemort-opposition at an all time low, the Order could not afford to lose them.

Letting a long and exhausted sigh escape him, Dumbledore moved towards his room, hoping that after a good night sleep, the morning sun would bring with it a twinkle of enlightenment in the shadows of doubt.

~*\/*~


	8. Surprises

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! To make it up to you I am thinking of posting three chapters today! Yay! Unfortunately, that means that you guys are nearly caught up to me and I will have to start writing again to keep up the pace. That is a good thing trust me. It just means, however, that the chapters might take a while longer. No worries, though! I am not one to drag out a story for years or even months on end. So enjoy and as always, please R&R!!**

Several months had passed since their trip into Hogsmeade and Harry was finding the inactivity more than difficult to handle. It was only two more weeks until Christmas Break and he was already planning a vicious ambush on his mother and father. The anticipation was almost killing him. After their meeting with Sirius, anyone who even remotely knew the eldest Potter could see the change in him. He seemed so serious, not even baited when Kate had picked on him incessantly about getting frown lines. Barely did he notice Ron's more and more frequent absence and Hermione's growing concern for him. Usually Harry was busy strutting about the school, laughing loudly or in the library distracting his more studious counterpart. Yet lately he seemed far away. Even as he sat atop his broom at the center of the quidditch pitch, his eyes seemed not to be looking for the snitch.

"HARRY!"

Harry nearly toppled off his broom at the sound of his sister's voice. He looked around to see her beater's club brandishing wildly at the one of Ravenclaw's goal posts. The Ravenclaw seeker, Jennifer Smith was racing rapidly toward the tiniest glint of gold that was hovering inches above the ground below. Harry let out a growl of frustration before flattening himself to the handle of his Nimbus 2000, making himself as small as possible so he could urge his broom faster and faster.

A collective gasp rose through the stands as they all held their breath, watching as Smith drew ever closer to the snitch and Potter ever closer to her. Smith reached out her hand as the final five meters drew to a close. Harry was already silently berating himself for not paying closer attention. He was their captain! Wasn't he supposed to be the one yelling at them to mind the game? Thinks seemed to slow for Harry as he drew even to the end of the young Ravenclaw's broom.

He had just given settled on kissing the Quidditch House Cup goodbye when suddenly the smaller girl was spinning madly out of control. With lightening reflexes, Harry dodged her and unconsciously reached out to grasp the snitch in his right hand. The roar that erupted from the Gryffindors was deafening. Harry looked at his hand in shock. He couldn't seem to see how he had done it. His eyes scanned the area for the Ravenclaw seeker only to find her on the ground clutching her broom to her chest crying. It had been snapped almost in half. Just to his right he saw Kate's bat arm still wrapped around her in follow through. His little sister had taken the seeker out with a bludger so he could catch the snitch.

His heart swelled with pride as they all landed on the pitch to a flood of red and gold that was now fighting its way down to meet the winning team. The whole team embraced, jumping up and down excitedly. Harry felt as if it were the first time he had smiled in months. He didn't even let his temper get to him when Kate popped him over the head with her broom for not paying attention. Everyone was shouting their congratulations at another miraculous save by the eldest Potter. Everyone was soon urging him to join them in the common room for a night of celebration. SMiling, Harry felt himself let go for a moment as he agreed. It felt Marvelous to release the tension and he was almost giddy. After many hugs and claps on the back, Harry and the rest of the team hit the showers.

Lingering for a few moments to help Madame Hooch wrangle all of the balls into their prospective places and go over the schedule for the next semester's practice and game schedule, Harry was the last one to leave the locker rooms. By the time he got out only Hermione was waiting for him sitting cross legged on the lowest tier of the stands. Her Arithmacy book was propped up in her lap, a look of stern concentration fixed on her face as she studied ferociously. Harry couldn't help but laugh. He wondered if she had been studying through the whole game. _Probably_, he thought remembering the fit she had thrown the previous morning when she had found out that the quidditch match coincided with midterm's week this year.

"I know you can't have absorbed a thing during that match," he said startling her into dropping her book down into the stands. He laughed again. It felt foreign, but good.

"_Accio book!_" she summoned catching deftly with one hand, her eyes never leaving Harry's face. She studied him quizzically as she tucked it into her rucksack.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just…"

"Just what?"

"It's just that that's the first time you've spoken a full sentence to me since coming back from seeing Professor Black. Are you feeling better?"

Harry shrugged uncomfortably. He chided himself for being so distant with his friends. "Yeah, a bit." He slung her pack over his shoulder despite her protests and led them off the pitch and towards the castle.

"What changed?"

"I dunno, just feel good right now. I mean we _won_. Or were you too busy studying to notice." He gave the heavy bag a meaningful shake as he pushed open the front doors and started up the marble staircase.

"I'm sorry, it's just Professor Vector need us to memorize all of the Primary and Secondary potential number patterns of the—oh _never mind_ that!" With that she threw her arms around Harry's neck and hugged him knocking him backwards into the banister of the stair. It was more the reaction he had been looking for, he had to admit. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," he chuckled, reveling in the smell of her soft curls on his face. The hug lingered a bit longer then it should have. Both could feel the heat of their two bodies pressed together in a way that seemed more friendly than was usual. Harry was reluctant to let go as Hermione pulled back blushing, not managing to look him directly in the eye.

They walked on for a moment in an awkward silence. Harry couldn't help but smile again as he thought of how beautiful the once bashful bookish girl had grown into such a lovely young woman. In truth, before that year, he hadn't put much thought towards her in that way. He had been too busy with…well quite a few others. He did seem to have a reputation for being a serial dater. But more and more lately Hermione seemed to be drawing his eye. He wasn't sure what to make of it or what she would make of it. Worrying about stuff like that wasn't something Harry did. He figured if things were to happen, they would. Still, he couldn't help but think of how that skin would—

"So are you actually going to cease being broody from now on?"

"Maybe, will you give me a kiss?" he asked, only half joking.

Hermione scoffed and shoved him playfully pulling back the tapestry that was the shortcut to Gryffindor tower. Not looking where she was going, she barely noticed when Harry froze. Her eyes quickly followed his. A small squeak escaped her, notifying the pair in front of them just in time.

"Hey, close the tapestry, will you?" Ron said his back turned to the exposed doorway.

Kate, however, ducked her head around Ron's shoulder at Hermione's squeak and barely had a glimpse of her older brother's angry face and his angry fist caught the side of Ron's face. He let out a yelp of surprise as he was knocked sideways into the stone wall.

"HARRY!" shrieked Hermione.

"RON!" cried Kate rushing to Ron's side.

"What the fuck!?" Ron shouted sliding stunned down the wall.

Harry growled and drew his wand.

Chaos ensued. The girls were screaming at the boys who were both yelling at one another. Several curses flew off of the walls before Hermione finally drew her wand and placed a body binding curse on both boys.

"Both of you SHUT IT!!" she yelled, leaning them against opposing walls. Both struggled for a moment more before dropping into glowering at one another.

Kate took the opportunity to get into Harry's face. "WHAT do you think you are doing?" she shrieked. "What gives you the right to attack Ron? He is _my_ boyfriend!"

"SINCE WHEN?" Harry garbled loudly though his mouth that was snapper shut.

Kate ignored him and pressed on. "You have no right sticking your nose in my business Harry James Potter! I am old enough to take care of myself and I can curse the pants off of you any day. If you touch one more _hair_ on his head, so help me, you will _wish_ that you were and only child."

Harry seethed at Ron while his best mate ws looking at his girlfriends with a mixture of admiration, embarassment, and affection.

"Now, if you don't mind," she spat hatefully,"_we _are going the party. Don't bother talking to either of us again until you can apologize for this." And with little more than a flip of her red hair and a flick of her wand, she reversed the body bind curse and grabbed a stunned Ron by the hand and dragged him back up the hallway. Still clutching his bleeding lip, Ron followed her without complaint.

~*\/*~


	9. Kiss

**A/N: Short chapter! So sorry! I won't get the tenth chapter up for a while longer! Sorry! R&R!!!**

Hermione stood in the now dark corridor examining Harry in silence. He was still very red in the face, but his eyes had lost some of their anger. Truth be told, he looked not unlike a scolded child who was filled with defiance at having been told he was wrong. The look stayed her hand from reversing the charm immediately after Ron and Kate disappeared. Certainty that he would go after them and finish Ron off coursed through her thoughts shouting "CAUTION!" in big red letters. So they sat in silence for a full ten minutes as she waited until his shaking had subsided.

"I'm going to let you off now, but if you run to kill Ron again, I won't think twice about doing this again. He is our _friend_ and I like his being alive." Her words reverberated off of the stone walls. After as slight murderous look at her, his green eyes shown with defeat. She reversed the curse and held Harry's wand out to him. He took it and put it safely back into his back pocket and began to walk in the opposite direction of the common room. "Are you okay?" she asked finally following him back towards the marble staircase.

"Hermione, that is my sister! My little sister and he had his hands—" he made a frustrated motion as if grabbing invisible breasts before gagging in disgust. "How could he do that? She's only sixteen and he was taking advantage of her! And—" He stopped as he heard Hermione snigger behind him.

She quickly straightened her face and gazed up at him. "Oh, come on! You don't honestly believe _that_ now do you?"

He blinked at her obliviously.

"Harry! They have been mooning over one another for months now! I mean _honestly_! You didn't notice!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that your sister and your best friend have been crazy about one another for a while now. Probably been dating for a really long time without telling you because—well—they knew you would react like this."

"Of course I would react like this! How would Ron react if suddenly I were kissing Ginny? That is my baby sister and she is too young and he is—"

"—your best friend."

"But he's not good enough for her!"

"Would anyone be?"

He paused for a moment in the courtyard just outside of the entrance hall. The cold winter air tugged at his cloak sending sparks of tingles down his bare arms and cooling his anger a few degrees. "Well, no, but still." Restless, he paced around the snowdrift-buried fountain.

She grabbed Harry by the shoulders and made him face her. His gaze bit into her, but she held it steadfastly. Without looking away she casually flicked her wand at one of the snow covered benches making it dry and warm before saying, "Harry, you don't have to worry about Kate! She can take care of herself. And you need to ask yourself one question. Is losing both of them really worth butting heads with two of the most stubborn people we know over something that is making them both happy in such dark times?"

Harry fell into silence and sat down. "You really think—"

"Yeah," she said taking a seat next to him letting him marinate for a moment.

"I don't like it," he grumbled.

"It doesn't matter."

He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He knew she was right. He just wasn't ready to swallow his pride about it yet.

A comfortable silence settled around them as the soft winter noises began to float around them. After a while she added, "Plus it the atmosphere couldn't have been more romantic."

"What?!" He looked over at her surprised.

She blushed prettily at the admission and became ver interested in picking at a stray string on her arithmacy book. Not for the first time he noticed how beautiful his female best friend had become. The failing sun was washing her curly brown hair, flecking it with blonde and redish highlights making her look more radiant than before. Freckles dusted her nose giving her just enough of an innocent look so that when she looked up at him through her eyelashes she looked sultry rather than childish. Her boyish figure had finally curved in all the right places giving her a look that made Harry rethink how he could have ever considered the woman before him plain. Her cheeks flushed deeper with embarrassment when she noticed how Harry was looking at her, but she didn't back off.

Tentative at first, Harry leaned in, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear and hooked his index finger under he jaw drawing her forward. Softly, he closed his eyes and gently brushed his lips against hers, savoring the smoothness of them against his own. When she didn't pull away he moved his hand into her hair and deepened the kiss. To his surprise, she returned it tangling her petite fingers into his windswept locks.

But as suddenly as it had begun, she pulled away and stood suddenly. "I'm sorry, I can't!" she said and turning on her heal headed back into the castle, leaving Harry to ponder the confusion and annoyance that seemed to be his bedmate this evening.

~*\/*~


	10. Brooding

**A/N: Sorry again for the wait! Here is another chapter! Hooray! Enjoy, Rate, and Review!**

The bad taste that big exams left in the mouths of students slowly began to subside as the week of midterms came and went at Hogwarts. With the Hogwarts Express only running twice a year (to get the students to and from Hogwarts for the summer) special arrangements had to be made to get everyone home and back for the holidays. It was a far more complicated process then it had been before involving many owls to and from Hogwarts, long floo calls and hundreds of portkey setups. After all that, everyone had to leave at staggered intervals creating a logistical nightmare. All in all it was a very complicated mess that took a little over two weeks, hence the midterms and last quidditch game of the season coinciding.

Harry, though no longer showing any anger towards his sister and best friend, had made no attempts to apologize to either one. Ron had still regarded him with heated expressions and his sister simply ignored him. Even his younger brother Adam, who had always looked up to his older brother, was ignoring him and shooting him angry looks in the corridor. Harry could have lived with this had his situation had his situation with Hermione not been just as complicated. She had been stealthily avoiding being alone with him since they had kissed. She would pretend to study in the Head Girl dorm, or she would be accompanied by at least three other Gryffindor girls. When they did talk, it was all business. It seemed as if she would be content to ignore the event forever. Her refusal stung more than Harry was willing to let on, so, after the first week of her careful avoidance he had lowered himself into a steady pattern of brooding.

It was in this pattern that he found himself sitting alone in the Great Hall glaring down at his eggs. He was so intent on scrambling them into small pieces that he barely noticed when his younger brother sank into a seat next to him, his eyebrow quirked up in amusement as he observed for a moment before announcing his presence. Being in a different house, it was harder for David to keep up with his brother's drama, but from what he had gathered from Kate, Harry seemed to be having it in spades for the last couple of weeks. "SO!" he shouted in Harry's ear causing the latter to drop his fork with a clatter and jumped.

"Don't _do_ that!" He growled, picking up his fork and continuing his brooding.

The fact that he hadn't been socked was not lost on the younger Potter he decided to press on. "You seem popular these days," David pointed out, enjoying his older brother's mood.

Harry grunted in reply.

"Oho! You've given up speech as well?"

"Davie, boy, do me a favor and shove off!" He looked up only long enough to give his younger brother an emerald glare.

Unruffled, he sat next to his brother, pushing a stray bit of straw colored hair out of his amused face. "I'd rather not, actually. It's not often that I am not the most hated Potter in the school. What did you do to gather all this unpopularity?"

"It involves a load of snogging then ignoring on all fronts, but it's a rather complicated story I'd rather not relay."

David shrugged, "Well, just thought you should know that we are finally heading out for Christmas tomorrow morning." Stealing a piece of toast, he made to leave, turning at the last second for dramatic affect. "It should be an interesting holiday." With that he dropped a letter in Harry's massacred eggs and walked off chuckling.

Harry dropped his fork again, brushed egg bits from the parchment, opened the letter, and read:

_Dear Harry, Kate, David, and Adam,_

_ How have you all been? I hope that your lack of owls is due to the fact that you are all so busy making good grades and filling your heads with knowledge rather than ignoring your mother. Your father and I have been very busy setting up the new house for all of you. I miss you all dearly. It is way too quiet here without at least one of you home. I haven't had this much time to myself for eighteen years. The result is a house that is completely decked out for the holiday. I hope you will all like your new rooms (yes, each of you have your own rooms!). They were your father's personal project and he is quite proud, so don't say anything if you don't like them! _

_Dumbledore is sending you home to us on December twentieth by portkey. Unfortunately, we will not be having the holiday here at the new house. We will all be at __Grimwald Place__ with Sirius and other family and friends. It should be a good time. _

_I can't wait to see you all again. _

_Love Always,_

_Mum_

Harry dropped the letter and sighed. He knew that when she said that they would be spending the holiday with family and friends it meant that everyone from the Order would be there. That meant that Ron would be there. Harry wasn't sure if he could handle watching Ron snog his sister in front of their representative families. He could see now why David thought it was funny. The boy loved to see him squirm.

The only thing Harry had to look forward to was perhaps his Dad would finally be telling him the reason behind their sudden move. After their final in DADA, Sirius had kept Harry behind in class to tell him that he was going to writing home to his fellow maurauder. He was very impressed with how well his godson had stayed in line, admitting that he himself probably wouldn't have been able to do it. Harry laughed inwardly at this. He had managed to destroy his entire life in a matter of weeks. How was that impressive? However, he did warn that the letter might do no good whatsoever, but at least he would try.

And this would be three weeks away from Hermione. Harry shook himself at the thought. He had never beaten himself up so much over a kiss before. Usually, when things didn't go well, he simply moved on to the next available girl to ease the sting of his wounded pride. Now, however, it seemed he couldn't. Even when Lavender Brown had offered herself, he had found himself turning her down. Not like he hadn't kissed half the school, why was Hermione so different?

_Because she is one of your best friends, whom you love, and you just made that love a lot more complicated by liking her,_ he thought. Did he actually like her, or was it simply the moment, he wondered. After a moment more of making mince meat of his eggs he came to a conclusion.

He did like her and, by Merlin, he wasn't going to let her go to holiday without knowing it.

With his mind set, Harry left his murdered eggs and headed for the Library, ready tell his best friend that he didn't want to be friends anymore.


	11. Hope

**A/N: This is a chapter to string along that tension just a little bit more!!**

Sure enough, he found her in the library surrounded by large stacks of books despite the fact that the new semester had yet to begin. He smirked feeling a warmth of familiar happiness as he approached her stealthily, thanking whatever power was watching over him that she was on her own. But they couldn't do this here. The library was far too quiet a place, but he was no going to give her a chance to run off again. Without announcing himself, he walked up, grabbed her hand and proceeded to drag her from the library.

A squeak escaped her throat, but as they passed by the stacks of books, Harry felt the resistance against his hand lessen and finally cease. When they reached a portrait that led to a little used secret passage that led to the fifth floor, he dropped her hand and turned to look at her for the first time. She was wearing a mask of mixed emotions that Harry couldn't quite make out.

"We need to talk," he began, measuring her reaction.

"I agree," she replied simply.

"You've been avoiding me."

"No, I haven't—" she began, trying to look aghast and failing.

"Yes, you have." His realization was stern and it brought with it, a haze of uncomfortable silence.

Finally Hermione spoke up. "What do you want from me Harry?"

He looked up at her in surprise. "I would have thought that was simple enough to guess."

She made an annoyed noise of disghust.

Wide eyed he blushed. "Not **that!" he said outraged. **He lowered his head in embarrassment. "I want a chance."

"A chance?" she scoffed, causing him to look up to confirm the hurt in her voice was reflected on her face. It was. He waited patiently as she fought to bring her words to the surface. "Here's what I don't get, Harry, the little inconsistency. This might be hard for you to hear and you might never want to speak to me again after I say it let alone carry on with the proposition you are about to make. But here we go." She took a deep breath and looked into Harry's green eyes.

"Harry, you haven't spoken to Ron or Kate. You call him not good enough for your sister, but look at his track record! He has only ever been with one other girl, and she broke _his_ heart, not the other way around. He is head over heals for your sister. Moony! And yet, he is still not good enough!"

"What does this have to do with—" he began, not wanting to talk about his sister and best friend, but she cut him off.

"It has everything to do with this!" she motioned frustrated between them. "Why should I trust that it is me you actually like, Harry Potter, why? You are with a different girl every few weeks. Don't think I don't know! I hear you and Ron talking. Yet you fail to see these flaws in yourself, though you crucify Ron who has a much better track record. I want to trust you, I do, because well, I've always been a bit smitten with you, but I don't want to become part of your wreckage. You and Ron have been the best friends I have ever had. I don't want to risk loosing that friendship over a weeks worth of snogging."

Harry regarded her for a few moments, trying to find the words to say, trying to suppress the hurt anger that was bubbling up in the pit of his stomach. "I know that I have been that. I know I've been a jerk and broken hearts. I wish I could make you forget that, because I know that this time will be different." His words were sandpaper. After a few deep breaths he calmed himself an continued. "The thing is I haven't been able to get you out of my mind for quite some time now. There has been no room for anyone else there. And, none of those other girls have ever been in my heart, not since the debacle with Cho back in fifth year. But you, you have always been there. You are one of my best friends! I have loved you like a friend since first year. And now," he took a gulp. He was about to break every rule of dating that Sirius had ever taught him. But he knew it was the right thing to do. "I feel that love changing into something that isn't entirely friendly. Hermione," he took her hands in his and force her eyes to meet his, "I am falling in love with you. I don't think I can be just your friend anymore.

"I don't want to feel pressured by that, but I just needed you to know. And you can ask anyone, I have never said that to anyone before this moment. Only you."

She looked at him dumbfounded with tears sparkling un-shed in her eyes, not having expected anything close to what he had said. She had been hardened for his outrage at having been called the male equivalent to a slag. She had expected his anger at be called a lesser man to Ron. Being told that he was falling in love with her, however, was not one of the things she was expecting. Now the ball was in her court. For a moment she just let it sink in, mulling over the news in her head before answering. "Wow," she responded stupidly.

Harry chuckled a little uncomfortably.

"I need a little time to think about this," she said finally, dropping his hands and stepping back a little.

Harry nodded a little disappointed, dropping his eyes and mentally beating himself.

"That's not a no, but it isn't a yes." The words sounded funny escaping her lips because no formal question had ever been asked. "I think the holiday will give both of us time to think about whether or not this is really what we want."

"I understand." He couldn't keep the melancholy out of his voice.

She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and hug, testing the way it felt before pushing away.

As she was turning to leave Harry had a sudden thought. "Hermione!" He called taking a few steps toward her. "On Christmas Eve, we are having party with everyone from the Order at Grimwald Place. Dinner and such, I would like it if you would come. You can apparate onto the stoop, you wouldn't need special transport."

She looked at him tiredly. Harry inwardly grimaced at the look. "I don't know. Maybe," immediately holding up her hands in preemptive defense, "but I don't want you to think of that as hinge point of my decision about us. If I show, I show. If I don't, I don't. It doesn't mean anything either way."

"No, I know!" he hastened to save. "It's just all of our friends will be there and you are the only one without parents in the Order, so I thought…" He let his sentence trail off as he realized that he was beginning to ramble. A fog of discomfited silence followed, choking out the air in the passage but neither could manage to leave.

"I leave tonight," Hermione finally broke in.

Harry nodded and looked at his feet.

"Take care of yourself." Hesitantly, she came forward, giving Harry a light kiss on the lips this time, releasing it before he had a chance to react. By the time he opened his mouth to respond, the tapestry was already swinging closed.

Taking a deep breath and trying to squelch out the last bits of excitement that was threatening to well up inside of him and fan the small hope that trying to take hold in his chest. He couldn't be happy. Not yet. despite what she ahd said, Christmas Eve would tell the tale. With a cautious bounce in his step he turned and headed back up to Gryffindor Tower to finish packing for his impending holiday departure.

~*\/*~


	12. Thinking

**A/N: So sorry for the wait! I don't have internet at my house so I'm having to travel to a cafe to use the access. Romantic, I know--writing in a cafe. Unfortunately it means slower updates. No worries though! I am back to writing. I am now five chapters ahead. I will be posting a couple today. These next couple (this one aside) are going to be a bit of fluffy filler. I want to resolve a few relationships before I delve into the meat of the story which is really exciting! This chapter is a little short, but the next one will be much longer, promise!  
**

**Also (sorry this is a long note) I would like to thank all of you that have been reading/adding to you faves/reviewing my story. I realize that my not acknowledging you until now is extremely rude and ungrateful. I apologize. The reviews are all very kind and I love reading them. They encourage me to write more! *wink wink* Please keep the comments coming! I am going to stop now and let you guys read, but again, THANK YOU!--Caprican  
**

Harry stared at the ceiling not really seeing it. His mind was miles away while his gut was busy twisting itself with nerves about the following evening. _Will she come?_ he asked himself over and over. He shook his head, berating himself for lingering on the single question. A more important one would be 'What am going to say to my best friend of seven years that I nearly knocked out?' or 'Why did my family suddenly move into hiding?' but his mind would not focus. Rolling over onto his stomach, he tried to steer his thoughts, only to find that his mind had no interest in being guided.

"Knock, knock." James entered the room without waiting for a response and sat on the edge of Harry's bed following his eyes to the crimson wall that had a magically painted golden snitch fluttering across its smooth surface. "Did the snitch do you wrong?"

"What?" Harry asked in surprise.

James chuckled. "You are watching the snitch as if its done you a personal wrong."

"Just thinking?"

"Care to share?"

"Do you?" Harry countered.

"I asked first."

Harry lapsed into silence, not rising to the occasion.

"Your mum is worried about you."

Nothing.

"She thinks you are sick."

Harry let out a bitter laugh. "You could say that." James waited, knowing that he had just poked a pin sized hole in a dam that was already at its breaking point.

"Dad, I think I messed up." He pushed himself into a seated position.

"Well, I know that you have a younger sister downstairs that would agree."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Well I did punch her boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" James raised his eyebrow in question. No one had mentioned to him that Kate had a boyfriend for a reason. Unlike his hot headed son, James would simply tease her ceaselessly. Yet the fact that she was dating was somewhat disturbing. She was, after all, his little girl. "Who is it?"

"Ron."

James let out a relieved laugh. "Ron? As in _the_ Ronald Weasley?"

A smile slowly spread across Harry's lips and before he knew it, he too was laughing out loud along with his father.

"Well, not that I can condone it, but I don't blame you for socking him," James finally managed to choke out, wiping tears from his eyes. "I take it you haven't reconciled?"

"No, I got distracted after that."

"Ah." It was a knowing sound. "Must be a mighty powerful distraction to take come between you and your best mate." He glanced at his son who was now picking at a thread on his golden bed spread. "A girl?"

"You could say that…." Harry trailed off, falling once more into brooding.

"Harry, you're not…it's not…I mean…it's not a bloke—"

"No, no, Dad, she's a girl. She's just..." Harry's stomach knotted uncomfortably as he thought about Hermione once more. He decided on the spot that telling his dad about her before anything happened was a bad idea. Plus he didn't want to waste the opportunity to speak with his father about their sudden move.

"She's just…?" James prompted.

Turning to face his father, Harry ignored his question and steamed forward. "Did Sirius write you?"

James sighed, knowing where this road was going. "Yes, he did."

"And?"

"Listen, if it were up to me I would love to explain to you what happened."

"It is up to you. You are my _Father_, you know. I need to know. I'm of age. What's the problem?"

James studied his son's face for a moment wishing that he could tell him about what had happened that night. He wanted so much to trust him, but his boy was still a boy and was not ready. "Many things. But you should know something."

Harry's eyes looked up expectantly his eyes wide with anticipation. "Yes?"

"What happened first term cannot happen again." James ran his hands through his messy hair. "I will tell you this, and this is more than you should know. Sirius and I were on a mission that led us to believe that we were being watched by the government and You-Know-Who."

"That's nothing new, though. We have been watched since you and Mum joined the Order before I was born. You guys have been fighting him for nearly a decade."

"Yes, but he seemed to know where to find us, which he shouldn't be able to."

"Why?" Harry pressed.

"That is all I am going to tell you."

"But—"

"Take it or leave it, Harry. This is not a game. It is more pressing than ever that you and your brothers and sister lay low. For some reason we are being targeted, hence the secrecy. Which," he cut the boy off before he could interrupt, "I expect you to carry on. No one need know that you know anything, understand?" Without waiting for confirmation, James stood and left his son to silence.

~*\/*~


	13. Normal

**A/N: I know! I suck! I didn't get this one up before I had to leave. But hear it is! Please enjoy! Thank you again for all the favorites and reviews! Please keep 'um coming! **

"Harry, dear, please take this to the table?" Molly Weasley said handing Harry a large platter of pealed and boiled potatoes.

Harry took the excuse to get out of the bustling Kitchen filled mostly with the Women of the families and their slave workers—er—children. Frankly, the squabbling of the hens was starting to give him a headache and his already frazzled nerves were not up to taking it. The whole night he was on pins, waiting to see if Hermione would show up for dinner. So far, it was six in the evening, dinner was in a little over half an hour, so there was nothing to worry about, right?

"Bloody hell, woman!" a familiar voice rang out from behind him halfway up the stairs to the formal dining room. "Are you trying to scald me with gravy?!" From behind him, something flew in and hit him in the back of the head causing some of his long red locks to fall into the gravy.

Frozen in his tracks, Harry fought off a laugh at the annoyed look on Ron's face. He missed his best mate so much lately, especially at times in his life like this. Butterflies were boiling in his stomach at the prospect of Hermione coming to dinner and not a soul knew. Ron had been with him through every one of his conquests—even a few that were more than a bad idea. Yet this one seemed more important than any of the others. It was less of a conquest and more of…well…love. All in all, Harry was on the cusp of one of the most important nights of his life and he had no one to share it with because the only person (other than Hermione) who he shared anything with was no longer speaking to him.

Harry's excitement slowly began to win out over his stubbornness.

In that instant Harry turned to face Ron nearly bumping into him as the redhead was busy trying to clean the gravy off of his hair as he walked. Both looked at one another with wide eyes, silent for a moment. Then, suddenly, Ron's face hardened and he made to bypass Harry without a word.

_Well, I should have guessed that he wouldn't make this easy_, Harry thought. Ron was asking Harry, without asking, not only to buck up the courage to talk to him, but also to swallow his pride. There were worse things. Harry grabbed Ron's arm as he made to pass. More Gravy slopped to the ground. "Hey, can I talk to you?"

Ron looked at him quizzically for a moment before nodding.

Harry pulled him into the first room on the left that doubled as his bedroom when they were staying at Grimwald. The wall paper was a god awful orange, green and yellow paisley that clashed badly with the ugly blue carpet. All in all it was a loud atmosphere that the surrounded the two. Setting down the potatoes on his bedside table he turned around and shoved his hands in his pockets. His green eyes were fixed on the floor, not bothering to look up as he heard Ron's weight sink into the creaky single bed along the wall. Awkward silence filled the air.

"So…?" Ron prompted after a few minutes.

Harry ran a hand through his messy hair that immediately got stuck in the gel he had tried to use to tame it that morning. He cursed in frustration and let it drop finally looking at Ron. "I just wanted to say that I was wrong and I'm sorry, okay?" he said.

Wide eyed, Ron looked at him in surprise. "That's it?" he grinned.

Harry mirrored him. "Yea, I guess."

"No big brotherly threats to my manhood? No more punching my lights out?"

"I assume that after knowing me for forever that you know what the threats are. And I think that hitting has already given you a taste of the fact that I can follow through with those threats if necessary." His tone was calm and playful.

"Mate, I didn't mean for this to happen—and I won't ever hurt her—I mean—I lo—well—you know—I just sort—I dunno—fell for her," he blabbered disjointedly. "You know?"

"I know. It's just I had to do something! She's—"

"—your baby sister?"

"Exactly! And you are my best mate. I knew in that instant that you have been ditching me to see her all year and that made me even more angry because I knew what I would be doing if I were ditching you to meet a bird. And the thought of—it just—" he flexed his muscles menacingly his face going red. "It is hard to think of her as old enough and I just—You know?"

Ron smiled, "I know. I would do the same if you had gone after Ginny."

Harry kept silent. He had never told Ron that he had had a brief tryst with his younger sister and never would. She obviously didn't want him to know and it hadn't worked out anyway. _I guess Ron hasn't been in on all my conquests after all...._Harry mused inwardly.

"So…are we good?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Good!" Ron smiled clapping Harry on the back. Picking up their prospective dinner things, both headed up the stairs. Ron was stilly trying to wipe the gravy from his hair with little success and lots of cursing. They were halfway to the dining area before Ron almost made Harry send the potatoes flying.

"So…no word from Hermione yet? You must be crawling out of your skin!"

"What?!

Smirking, he added, "Oh, come now, who do you think she was with when she wasn't with you? I do listen sometimes when she talks. You know Hermione. She can help but wear her heart on her sleeve."

"Do you think…." he let his sentence drop hopefully.

"I dunno, mate," Ron answered, looking the proper amount of skeptical and hopeful. It was good to have him back.

Harry sighed and pushed the door open with his back allowing Ron to enter first.

"Then again," Ron said setting down his charge on the table and turning to Harry, "maybe she is dumber than she looks." He pointed across the table.

Following his gaze, he saw Hermione sitting between Fred and George. His heart nearly stopped. Had she been that beautiful before? Her hair was tamed into beautiful golden brown ringlets that framed her face and trailed down her shoulders. A deep burgundy red dress hung in a low v-neck lace cutting across the dip hiding her cleavage just enough to be modest. From what Harry could see it appeared to be a long sleeved wrap dress—not too sexy, not to modest—safe, he decided. She knew Harry too well, having been his friend for years, to give away her intentions by her dress. He cooled a bit at the thought.

Ron nudged him and winked as he passed sitting next to Kate. When he reached her, Harry briefly noticed his sister give a happy squeal and hug her boyfriend. She shot Harry a happy watery grin and mouthed 'Thank you" that told him that Ron told her of his approval. Harry, however, was distracted and barely acknowledged her. His attention was so fixated elsewhere that he had to remind himself to breath when lightheadedness threatened him with a wave of dizziness.

Pushing forward Harry caught Hermione's eye and gave her one of his classic charming grins. She blushed predictably and excused herself from Fred and George. "Happy Christmas, Harry, she said as she drew near enough. Perhaps he had been wrong about the dress. She looked ravishing in her two inch black satin heels. _She owns heels?_ he thought distractedly. "I just got in. I couldn't find you or Ron." It was a question even though she hadn't asked anything.

"Well, I—we—" he stammered. _What is wrong with me?_ he scolded himself. "I was apologizing."

Her eyebrows arched in surprise. "Really?"

"Don't sound so surprised," he laughed.

"So everything between you two is—"

"—back to normal," Ron finished coming up behind her.

Grabbing both boys around the neck, she pulled them each into a bone crushing hug. "You two, _honestly!_" she scolded them both happily.

They each scratched the backs of their heads, returning the hug uncomfortably as they were mashed together. "Gee, 'Mione, gerroff!" Ron said playfully batting at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just missed us. It is our last year together in school and who knows how much time we will have after."

"Bollocks!" Ron scoffed. "You can't be rid of us."

"Exactly," Harry confirmed his arm still lingering on her waste.

She noticed, and took a step back letting it drop. Both Harry and Ron noticed and silence fell between them broken only as Mrs. Weasley came through the door to their right levitating a huge turkey in front of her and letting it down into the center of the table. James and Lily came through behind her carrying what appeared to be several bottles of oak-matured mead both smiling happily.

Finally, Sirius burst through the door, carrying nothing. With a jovial clap to Harry's back he raised his arms to call everyone's attention. The room of thirty or so people fell quiet. "Welcome, all of you, to my humble abode," he said loudly and lavishly. "It seems that Professor Dumbledore and a few others cannot make it tonight, so if you are all ready, let us begin!"

A few of the Order members exchanged worried looks as everyone settled down. The trio, however, was eager to take their seats and break the awkwardness to sit down for a nice, if tense Christmas dinner.

~*\/*~


	14. Decided

Dinner went smoothly. Harry was sandwiched between Ron and Sirius. Hermione was seated on the other side of Kate who was on Ron's other side. Harry had barely gotten a chance to speak with her all night and though she was obviously trying to avoid his gaze, he could help but watch her relax as she talked to everyone. She truly did look radiant in the flickering candle light.

The night was still young when Mrs. Weasley, with the flick of her wand, made their leftover dinner disappear to be replaced by mountains of candies, sweet pies, and delicate cakes. People began to lazily pick at the desert testing the limits of their already full stomachs. Lily flicked her wand nonchalantly at the old fashioned radio and a tinkling of light music drifted about the nearly empty plates. The few people who hadn't gotten up to talk to others around the table drifted away as if it were a well practiced maneuver. Sirius magically stacked the tables to the side leaving a large area in the center of the room for dancing.

Typically, Lily and James were the first to begin swaying to the music, followed closely by Sirius and his cousin Tonks, and then, to Harry's great surprise, Kate managed to drag a blushing Ron out with her as well. The site of his best mate stumbling around the dance floor nearly made him spit out the mouthful of butterbeer he was drinking.

Harry sat nervously on the edge of one of the chairs, unable to soak up the atmosphere as he put his elbows on his knees and proceeded to run his fingers through his hair ridding it of the remainder of it's stiffness. He had come to terms with it just hours before. It was a shocking realization—one that he wasn't quite ready to share with the world. But he had to share it with her. Tonight. A fear that she might run away screaming coursed through him—hell he wanted to run away—but he had to tell her. It was eating him alive in the most scary and exciting agony that he had ever experienced.

"Careful, you might go bald," a feminine voice said so close to him that he jumped. Ginny had come up next to him, taking a seat silently as he pondered.

"What?" Harry asked, confused.

"You're hair pulling," she gestured, "you might go bald."

He didn't know how to respond to the off-handed greeting, so he remained silent. Untangling his hands from his hair he sat up and scanned the room for Hermione. She was no where to be found and he feared she might have slipped out without saying goodbye. Alarmed he scanned the crowded room more carefully.

"She's downstairs."

"Who?"

Ginny laughed. "Hermione! She is helping clean up in the kitchen. Something about the how the house elves deserve holidays too." Ginny pulled his chin up when he began the run his hands through his hair again. "Go get her."

"I can't!" he blurted.

"Why not?" Ginny's voice was exasperated.

"What if she—"

"She won't."

"But she told me—"

"She lied!"

"How do you know!?" he asked, getting tired of her interrupting his sentences.

"Because if it were me…" she trailed of going red before finishing resolutely, "I would want you to come get me, Harry Potter."

A Twinge of guilt echoed though him as he looked at her, thinking of how badly he had treated her just one year previous. She was honestly a very sweet girl. He was glad for her silence after their brief affair. If she had not been, he might have his best friend back right now. "Ginny--" he started to say.

"You are going to have to work harder for this one," she interrupted him, turning from him. "I suggest you start before she starts building up more walls to keep you out of that part of her heart."

With amazement, Harry looked at Ginny as if seeing the pretty redhead for the first time in a long while. Before he could stop himself, he gathered her into a bone crushing hug. Holding her at arms length, he smiled at her obviously flustered expression. "Thank you!" he said and with that, he went back into the hall and down the steps two at a time to the kitchen.

#-#-#-#-#-#

"Honestly!" he heard her voice filtering through the closed door. As he got closer, he heard the banging of pots and pans. Tiptoeing, he tried to slide into the door unnoticed. Hermione was standing alone in the kitchen, probably having sent the house elves away, looking completely frustrated. Half of the dishes were stacked neatly, washed next to the sink, but one pan did not seem to want to be washed at all. Hermione was dashing around trying to snag the rogue pot and having very little success. Harry stifles a laugh as it zoomed right between her legs and took another lap around the kitchen table—that is until the pan came zooming dangerously close to him. He let out a surprised yelp as his square glasses were covered with bubbles.

Hermione jumped and knocking over the already washed dishes, sending most of them crashing to the floor. "Harry!" she said, muttering a spell and sending the now clean and unbroken dishes zooming neatly into a cupboard. "You startled me! What are you doing down here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he said, reaching up with his seeker reflexes reached up and snatched both the pan and the scrub brush out of the air.

Hermione looked up at him thankful for the help and embarrassed that she had just been bested by a brush and pan. "I was just cleaning up."

"Hermione, its Christmas Eve and you're a guest."

"Harry, it's not fair for the elves to have to clean up after us without wages! It's _slavery_!" she said outraged.

Harry had to choke out his argument. It didn't matter how many times he tried to talk sense with her about elf rights. She wouldn't listen, and it usually caused a fight. Instead he walked up and went over to her, picking up a dish rag and manually starting to clean stack of dirty silverware. He managed to wrangle the scrub brush under the sink where it was still banging about.

He didn't miss the smile that spread over Hermione's face as he handed her the clean cutlery to dry.

"Thank you," she said so quietly, he almost missed it.

"No problem."

The sound of soft music drifted down, breaking the only silence that was around.

"Harry?" she said timidly as he started to scrub some of the water glasses.

"Yeah?"

"I think I've made my decision."

The glass in his hand made a loud clatter as it hit the bottom of the metal basin. Harry could feel all of the muscles in his neck tighten with strain. This was it. The moment of truth was here. Suddenly he felt rather ill. Never had he let someone else lead in the relationship. Lacking any type of control over the situation was disconcerting. He had to fight the fear of disappointment and thrill of hope that were battling in his gut as he casually picked up the unharmed glass and handed it to her. "Oh?" he asked stupidly, taking another glass to scrub.

"Yes," she said simply.

Waiting during her long pauses was excruciating. "And?" he prompted after several moments.

Her hand came into the sink and took the glass from his hands. She turned him to face her, a smile on her lips. Harry's heart raced into action as she ran her fingers through his hair, settling them on the back of his neck and pulled him down into a crushing kiss. Hand's still wet and soapy, he pulled her tight to him, relishing in the feel of her lips on his and the length of her body pressed tightly against him. It was heaven. The thrill of it filled Harry's senses from the tips of his toes to the to of his head. He could never remember a kiss meaning so much to him and he clung to it as if his life depended on it. Hermione's lips were his air and her body was the only thing keeping him from bouncing off the walls with excitement.

For a moment, everything evaporated around them and Harry forgot about the fact that he was still kept in the dark by his father. He forgot that his best mate was with his sister. He forgot that the death toll of muggles and muggleborns was rising by the second. He forgot that Every second of everyday they were fighting a losing war on a battlefield coated with innocent blood.

Tonight was Christmas Eve and he had made up with Ron and was now kissing the most beautiful and smartest witch he had ever had the pleasure of knowing. Life was good.

That is until…

"Hello?!" A female voice shouted from the hall. Harry reluctantly broke the kiss as Hermione looked curiously towards the kitchen door. "HELLO! I need help! Please! SOMEONE!" The voice was desperate.

Once Harry got the door, half of the upstairs party was already rushing down the stairs to see what all the commotion was about James and Sirius in the lead. What the saw shocked them all.

There, in the doorway, covered in blood that seemed to be seeping from several places on her body, was Professor McGonagall. Her normally neat hair was hanging lank about her shoulders and her robes were nearly shredded. Sirius and James dashed forward to catch her just before she toppled to the ground as Lily and Mrs. Weasley tried to wrangle all of the younger children back upstairs.

"Minerva! What in the name of Merlin happened to you?" Sirius asked. "Harry get the potions kit from under the sink! We need to stop the—"

"NO!" McGonagall shouted, causing everyone to stop in their tracks. "Albus has fallen. We need to get everyone to their Hogwarts immediately! You-know-who is on his way here now. We have been betrayed!"

~*\/*~


	15. Confrontation

**A/N: Thank you for all of your encouraging reviews! They are great motivators! I am so sorry that I have been a lump on a log and not published. Everything has seemed to be getting in the way, cars breaking down and such. But alas! Here it is, the end to one cliffhanger and the beginning of another. I tried to make this one a little longer than my chapters usually are to make up for it. I thought of splitting it up, but it is too cohesive to separate. I need to make one tiny disclaimer to keep from being sued. Towards the end, I bring up the infamous book five prophecy. That is word-for-word, JKR. The prophecy is all her and not me. I should hope that you all would know that considering you are reading fan fiction, but you never know. **

**This is all I have written so far, but I am coming up on a few major keystones in the story and then the ending probably within like the next ten or so chapters. What I am getting at is that my days of postin multiple chapters in one night are over. Instead I will try to do weekly posts of longer chapters to make up for it. I appreciate your patience in this! Much love to all. **

**Remember, Reviews are fuel for my inspiration fire! **

**Without further ado.....**

Everyone in the area fell silent in a moment of shocked disbelief, frozen in a state of fear. _Dumbledore had fallen? How was that even possible?_ The thought swirled through everyone's heads and seemed to click for everyone at the same moment as a low rumble of talk began to filter through the crowd. Some shouted disbelieving protests. Some broke into tears at the loss of the only half effective leader that the Anti-Dark Arts movement had left. Some simply sat looking lost and confused.

"Everyone!" James tried to bellow over the crowd, few but the ones closest to him heard.

"SILENCE!" Sirius boomed. His voice magically magnified in the small room caused everyone in the room to fall into immediate silence.

"We need to regroup back at the castle!" James shouted. Everyone seemed to snap back to sense at his words. "I will go out onto stoop and signal when it is clear for you to apparate to safety. Anyone who is trained and able, please find someone who isn't. Minerva? Is there a safe place for us to apparate to? We don't have time for portkeys."

She seemed to think for a moment and, to everyone's great surprise turned to Harry. "Mr. Harry Potter?"

"Yes, ma'am?" he replied startled.

"You are aware of a secret passage into the castle, are you not?" He nodded and she pressed on, "What kind of fortifications are surrounding the passage you and Mr. Weasley used to get into the castle?"

"Erm…there was one Deatheater posted at the entrance to shop that it was under and another making rounds, but aside from that…" he said embarrassed by all the eyes that were suddenly on him.

"Then we will be apparating straight into the basement of Honeydukes—"

"Excuse me, Professor, but not all of us know what the place looks like," Mrs. Weasley piped up. "We run the risk of being splinched."

"Well noted," The haggard professor looked around the room. "How many of you know the location well enough to apparate to it?" Immediately the hands of Fred, George, James, Lily, Sirius, Harry, Ron, and Hermione's hands went into the hair. "Very good. Now, everyone that is either unable to apparate to the location or unable to apparate alone please pair up with one of those individuals."

"Wait!" Hermione said suddenly. Everyone looked in her direction. Suddenly in the spotlight, she blushed and put on her most perfect student-answering-a-question-in-class voice and said, "They have people checking the store for signs of traffic. If we all go into the basement all at once we will draw attention and someone may see where we are entering!"

A shiver ran through the crowd. It was well known that Deatheaters could summon the dark lord in an instant with the Dark Mark.

"Then we will go in pairs," Lily spoke up, grief and worry etched in her voice. "Those who know the way will have to make multiple trips." She leaned heavily on Sirius as she added, "Disallusionment charms couldn't hurt either."

Agreement lighted onto everyone's faces and they just stood looking at one another for a moment.

"Please, don't wait until Merlin rises!" Fred said sounding exasperated. He pulled Tonks to him, tugged her to the stoop, and dissapperated.

"Yeah, let's go!" George said pulling his Mum by the hand and disappearing with a loud crack.

Other soon began doing likewise, pulling younger people with them. Harry looked around when a smaller hand grasped his to find Adam looking up at him with wide eyes filled to the brim with unshed tears. "Are we going to die?" he asked.

It was the first thing he had said to Harry in months and it nearly broke his heart. Kneeling next to young boy, he put the hand not desperately clinging to Hermione's on the young boy's shoulder. "Not tonight," he said, wishing he could say more without having to lie.

Adam seemed reassured, and nodded trying to look braver than he felt. Harry stood and shared a look with Hermione that was asking the same question. He gave her a one armed hug of reassurance as they watched people Disallusioning themselves and there tagalongs before they fully disappeared with a pop.

Hermione moved to stand next to Ginny, but Harry held fast to her hand pulling her back. She turned looking at him in confusion of moving bodies. With a quick yank he pulled her to him in a bone crushing hug momentarily dropping Adam's hand. "I love you," he mumbled into her hair kissing her on the forehead before he turned quickly to stand next to his youngest brother pulling out his wand and whispering the charm to make the boy invisible. She reddened and dashed in the opposite direction tears welling in her eyes.

James and Lily appeared on the stoop moments before the pounding began on the door. It was more like the blast of a cannon making the door frame creak and groan. Dust drifted down from the ceiling. "All clear everyone!" James shouted above the blasts. "Get out! Now!"

Immediately, Hermione and Ginny were gone. Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he watched them go. George reappeared and held out his hand. David grasped tightly to George's arm and screwed his eyes shut as tightly as possible moments before the overstressed door fell right where they had been standing.

The remaining four stood there, frozen eyes fixed on the glowing light that was fighting its way through the dust. Shadows began to fill the hole in the wall that had once been the door. A mutter of voices filled the room as curses.

"DUCK!" Harry yelled forcing Adam painfully to the floor. Red light filled the room leaving scorch marks in the wall paper when it hit. In The falling dust, Harry saw his mother's figure crumple as he pushed James out of the line of fire.

"LILY!" James yelled.

"NO!" Harry cried out helplessly.

"MUM!" Adam screamed momentarily trying to crawl to her side. Harry had to practically climb on top of the kid to keep him in place as he fought to find his wand among the debris.

James was doing the same thing as the dust settled around them leaving solid figures where there had only been shadows.

"Expelliarmus!" a voice hissed and James's and Harry's wands flew out of their hands and clattered to the ground.

Desperately searching for the wand, James barely noticed when a tall thin figure with snake like features came floating through the door. Adam's eyes became wide with fear hiddens safely beneath his invisibility spell, knowing who was silhouetted in the doorway. As soon as he found the slim piece of wood in the debris, James looked from his downed wife to his sons across the hall. Catching his son's eye, he mouthed the word _hide_ his eyes wide with terror as he muttered the _Nox_ under his breath. Immediately, the foyer fell into darkness and Harry covered what felt like his youngest brother's mouth and dragged him around a corner. He knew he should be looking for his own wand in the darkness, but fear froze him as the lights came back up.

"Well, well, well," the high pitched voice muttered as he lazily flicked his wand at James sending his wand careening out of his hand once more. "Who do we have here? _Ennervate!_"

Lily's eyes blinked several times before she realized where she was. With the flick of his wand, the woman rose into the air before him screaming and twitching with pain.

"NO!" James bellowed, launching himself forward only to be caught in the stomach and thrown back by one of the Deatheaters.

"No, no," Voldemort leered. Lily's frame went limp, her breath coming in and out in gasps as tears streamed don her face. "Move and she dies."

James froze his face red with anger, his fist clenched at his sides.

"What a coincidence! You two are just the blood traitor I wanted to see. Your mudblood wife is a bonus. Tell, me where are the kids?"

"Let her go," James whispered dangerously.

"Oh-ho!" He flicked his wand at Lily and she began to convulse. Her screams echoed around the room. Separated from the action by a mere six inches of wall, Harry wrapped his arms tighter around his little brother's invisible frame that was desperately trying to run to his mother. With the same abruptness, he cries stopped only to be followed by the most pitiful sobs. Harry felt tears fall down his own cheeks, echoing those of his mother. "Now, are we ready to listen?"

James said nothing as he nodded in agreement watching his helpless wife cry.

"Very good," Voldemort hissed, dropping his wand to his side. "I don't have a lot of time. It's busy work keeping the vermin of the earth like your wife here under control.

"But you see, earlier this afternoon I was checking up on some precious items of mine and discovered something very interesting. One officious old man has been _very_ busy meddling with things that he ought not to have meddled with." He paced around Lily's floating form to stand next to James who was shaking with visible anger. "This is no problem, I can simply make more. But you see, before I killed our busy bee, I took a trip through his mind.

"It was beautiful, he truly was brilliant. Too bad I destroyed it." The deatheaters sniggered behind their masks.

"You see, our favorite headmaster, was privy to details about a prophecy that I thought was taken care of nearly seventeen years ago when I killed two young parents and their bouncing baby boy."

"How will taking Lily help you?" James asked impatient with the Dark Lord's candor.

"It won't," he whispered in James's ear befor circling him predatorily. "See when I told you that bit about how lovely your wife looked while she slept, I was simply studying the curiosity that is your family. I thought of simply killing all of you then and there. After all, why would the old man go through the trouble of hiding you for sixteen years if you or one of yours were unimportant? But I am a patient man, Potter—deadly patient.

"When I finally realized, what Dumbledore was doing right under my nose, I saw the opportunity to find out what he was hiding from me." He paused for dramatic effect. "Do you want to know this very interesting prophecy?"

James's jaw clenched tighter.

"'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives....'" he hissed into James's ear.

Immediately, James's face paled, but still he said nothing.

"Part of this prophecy was already known to me. It is the reason that I killed the Longbottoms and their wee son just over fifteen years ago. There is _no one_ in this world more powerful than me in this world. I am the God of this dimension. All fear and serve _me_!" He shouted these words so harshly in James's face that he spittle sprayed the man.

"But it seems that Dumbledore thought that all these years it was not the Longbottom boy who held the power to kill me. He thought it was _your_ son, one Harry Potter!"

Around the corner, Harry's jaw dropped open and his grip on Adam momentarily relaxed. Astonished, Adam looked up at his shocked brother with awe and admiration as if the boy on the verge of manhood had just sprouted wings. He started to say something, but Harry quickly caught the question in his hand before it could escape the boy's mouth, giving him a warning look laced with ill hid fear.

"This is impossible, of course. No one could hope to defeat me, let alone a single solitary _boy_." he laughed and his deatheaters chuckled with him. "However, if this boy was the old man's secret weapon, I think it only right that I," he stepped directly in front of James once more and hissed, "Remove the threat."

~*\/*~


	16. Friends

**A/N: Okay, you can hate me. Im so sorry that it took this long for the update. If it makes you feel any better, I now am a chapter ahead already! And now I have internet, so updating will be way easier. All in all, I am in a possition to wrap this fan fic up withing the next month.**

**I have been getting a lot of possitive fedback and some really good suggestions. Im sorry that the chapters arent that long. I feel that they cover the approriate amount of information with the right amount of snap. Im trying to work on it. Also, there is a bit more magic in this one. Yay! If I didn't get around to answering your question/concern, my appologies.**

**Without further ado....**

As the pressure around Harry and Adam released the familiar smell of dust and stale sweets filled their nostrils. Without looking around to acknowledge the pop of another person appearing, Harry grabbed his younger brother by the scruff of the neck in one hand and wrenched open the trap door quickly tucking him into the passage below before drawing his wand and rounding to face his haggard looking father.

"Harry!" Adam yelped as his older brother stepped down so hard on the trap door that it nearly caught his fingers.

"Drop your wand," Harry snarled harshly his own wand shaking inches from his father's nose.

"Harry, I we cannot waste time with this—"

Cutting him off, Harry repeated his words in a dangerous whisper, angry tears collecting in the corners of his eyes.

James locked eyes with his son for a long moment before bending down and gently laying his wand on the ground, raising his hands into the air.

"_Accio wand_."

James watched as the narrow strip of wood flew through the air to be snatched in his eldest's hand with lightening reflexes.

"You can't be let it unless you are immobilized."

"I understand."

"I can't know if you are you or not," Harry's tone was almost apologetic through his anger.

James nodded and braced himself.

"_Petrificus totalis, Muffliato, moblicorpus._" In three swift movements, James's limbs were locked together, he couldn't hear anything, and he was caught just before his face hit the ground. Harry left his immediate line of vision and moments later returned with a cloth that he tied around his father's head obscuring his eyes. He ignored the protests of Adam and his worried yelps of "you're going to be in so much trouble."

James did not struggle, he did not try to protest. The fact that he gave up so easily made Harry's sense of unease grow by the step. As James relaxed into the holds, it felt like only moments later when he found himself on the ground hearing, all spells removed, a heated argument lighting up the background.

"—in the _hell_ were you thinking!" Sirius's voice echoed off the stone walls around them jarring James's newly awakened senses.

"I was _thinking_ that I didn't want the enemy—" Harry began.

"James is not the enemy! He had been fighting _against_ the enemy since before you were even an itch in his pants!"

"I know but you weren't there!"

"I didn't have to be there I know my friend and I know that he would never—"

"HE WAS PUT UNDER THE IMPERIUS CURSE!" Harry finally bellowed.

The room fell silent and all eyes that were not already trained on the argument turned towards them.

"They took mum," he pressed on, seeming to deflate after his explosion. "They took mum and Imperused him to make sure that he got into our safe ground and brought me back. He wants to kill me. He said that if Dad didn't bring me to him, they would kill her."

Sirius's eyes filled widened and he looked between his godson and his best mate searching for a contradiction finding only two defeated Potter men.

Hermione walked forward cautiously and put a hand on Harry's arm. He turned to her only for a moment before he had to look away for fear of breaking down.

"Sirius," James spoke for he first time. "What Harry said is true. But I am not Imperused. Feel free to test me or do anything that you need to do to verify that it is me, otherwise You-know-who is going to kill my wife and come here looking for Harry. The battlements have been severly weekended by Dumbledore's death. We don't have the time for you to be second guessing me."

Sirius examined his eyes and nodded. Kingsley Shacklebolt walked forward, pulling out his wand. James turned and began to head toward the antechameber of the Great Hall. Several order members followed him.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up, his body and mind numb.

"This will take abousome time, then we can start planning," Sirius said. "Go get some rest."

"But—"

"I promise you will not be left out of the plans," He interrupted Harry's protests and followed his best mate to the small antechamber just behind the head table in the great hall where they were all gathered. A low rumble of talk in the hall and all eyes on Harry.

Questions were flying around like varying from _Why him?_ to_ Is he the traitor?_

Head spinning, Harry held fast to Hermione's hand and tugged her trough the small crowd of what had been only Christmas guests but was rapidly becoming mixed with students with questioning eyes and the teachers who had been left behind to watch th corner of the room Madame Pomfrey was nursing Professor McGonagall. It was as if everyone was afraid to leave the suport of the other people around them. The shaddow that had been threatening Hogwarts for years seemed to pressing it's nasty black nose against the windows. Safety had been threatened. The professors looked scared and on edge while the students looked curious. Harry could feel the weight of eveyone's gaze like hot irons on his skin. He bypassed his younger brothers who were finding their friends among those gathered and searched the room for the tail tell signs of Ron's form. It wasn't long before he spotted him trying to console a crying Kate.

He caught Ron's eye and without saying so much as a word, he grasped Kate's hand. They began to follow Harry and Hermione out of the filling Great Hall and began to scale the familiar trail to Gryffindor Tower. For once Harry didn't complain that his sister was following them, that she was invading the sanctity that had always been only the three of them. In the past few hours, she had somehow become one of them, not only a sister, not only a girlfriend, but one of their friends.

Their footsteps echoed loudly off of the cold stone walls of the castle. Portraits whispered as they tried to push through their neighbor's frames, trying to get as close to the action of the Great Hall. By Ron's side, Katie was quietly gasping for air as tears rolled down her face. Hermione tried desperately to hold back her own sobs as tears rolled down her face. Ron's face was set in a hard grimace of determinations as he held tight to Katie's shaking frame. Harry's head was spinning with a million thoughts.

The crack that had fractured his picture of a perfect life the night of their move less than a year before had finally split wide open and was bleeding trickles of who he thought he was all over the ruins of his family. For so long, the chaos that seemed to be a bedmate to the rest of the world had been kept out of the bubble that was Harry's life. Now his mother had been kidnapped. His Father may or may not be under the control of Voldemort. He himself was being hunted down. It was all too much.

"Password?" the Fat Lady intoned absentmindedly as her friend Violet whispered in her ear obviously filling her friend in on the gossip of the hall.

"Bezoar," Ron said.

All of them scrambled through the now open portrait hole, avoiding the questions that were shot back at them about being in the common room when they ought to be with the other students.

Hermione flicked her wand lazily at the lamps on the walls and the room was flooded with a warm glow that touched no one's heart. All of them sank into their normal seats before the fire and were silent for a few heartbeats.

"So your Dad is a traitor?" Ron asked bluntly.

Harry snorted and slid his hands down his face as he rolled his eyes.

"Ron, I think there is a little more to the story that we are currently unaware of," Hermione intoned, trying to keep her obvious annoyance from her voice.

It took Harry a moment more of processing before he began telling them all what had happened at the house after their departure. When he started, he could barely catch a breath. All of them sat in silence as he relayed the story. He was grateful, fearing that any break in his speech waould punch a hole through the last dam of self control that he was struggling to hold on to. As he came to the end of the tale, he stood, unable to hold back any longer and turned his back to them facing the fire as unwanted tears rolled down his cheeks.

They all sat in relative quiet digesting the information at hand.

"So," Ron began, "What are we going to do?"

Harry almost laughed. It was less than a year ago that they had sat in the same spot with the same question on their lips. How far less sinister the task ahead has seemed. How less close to home had things felt. Now the only decisions that faced them seemed dark and uncertain. There was no hint of excitement at the prospect of an adventure—no ring of hope lilting about the room. There was no joy.

And unlike last time, Harry already knew the plan that lay ahead, well at least part of it. He did not need Hermione's brains to figure it all out. He just didn't know how to say it to make them understand that it was the only way.

"Don't even think it." Hermione's voice was closer to him than he had expected and he jumped. "There is another way."

He smiled to himself as he wiped his tears away before turning to her. "I have to go," Harry said in a voice that sounded more brave and sure than he felt. "It is the only way."

"No!" Kate burst out, a fresh burst of tears streaking down her face. "You can't! Dad and Sirius and the rest of the Order, they will find a way to—"

"To what?" he cut her off staring her dead in the eye. "He has Mum and he is going to start picking all of you off one by one until he finds a way to me! I'm the 'loose end' and I won't see my family and those that I love die for me!"

"But—"

"I am not asking, I am telling!"

"You're my big brother!" she shouted. "We shouldn't have to choose between you and Mum! It's not fair!"

Harry gathered her sobbing form into his arms and held her as she shook. His mind took him back to the times when they were young and she had come to him in the middle of the night, tears streaming down her face and that same look of terror in her eyes. She had been too afraid to walk up the long flight of stairs that disappeared into the attic room that their parents had shared with the then-still-baby David. Their rooms being adjacent had made Harry's room the closest thing to safety. When they were young, he had simply told her funny jokes, or consentrated on her so hard on her stuffed pigmy puff that it would dance and coo, making her laugh until all the fear was gone, replaced by a peaceful sleep.

Those times were gone, though. He held her at arms length and tried his best to lie to her. "Don't think that way. I am going to go out there and get Mum back. Everything will be okay, I promise."

She nodded and turned took her seat back at Ron's side. Harry found himself suddenly happy that the two were together. RRon could be her strength now. At least she wouldn't be alone.

"What is our plan?" Ron asked again.

"_Our plan_? There is no _our plan_." Harry said pacing up and down the room. "You guys are going to distract and I am going to escape."

All three of them began voicing their protests at once. Finally Hermione's voice cut over the rest of them. "You can't go alone! You won't stand a chance of saving your mum or yourself!"

"We can help!" Kate piped up.

"But—"

"Listen, Harry, if you insist on playing the hero here, then you aren't going to go at it alone. We have plenty of time. We can come up with a plan before the others even realize that something had happened."

"But—"

"Sit down and shut it!" Hermione shouted, nonverbally summoning a roll of parchment, ink and quill to her and preparing for what was promising to be a long night indeed.

~*\/*~


	17. Leaving

**A/N:**** I have become my own worst nightmare. I am that person that creates a story and doesn't upload for months. I am sorry and I sacrifice myself on the alter of shame and despair. I have been having life/work problems. It is a bad excuse. So I am going to write this next chapter right now in the upload manager. This is brave for me since I usually work on things for hours at a time. I am a slow typer... Anywho, here goes, for those of you still out there listening. I love you all and keep the reviews coming. Also! I rated this for language and some sexual situations. So far, I haven't had a lemon. This will be this one will have one. I will write the lemon in italics. Skip it if you are a) too young or b) that is not your sort of thing. Don't say I didn't warn you though. I want to try and finish this fic up pretty quickly, so hopefully we will be done at 20. Thank you for sticking with me!  
**

Harry awoke the next morning to the light coming though the tall thin windows of the Gryffindor Common room. He had a brief moment of panic before realizing where he was. Hermione was cuddled up next to him, her neck tilted at a awkward angle. His arm had fallen asleep many hours ago and as he lifted Hermione off of him trying desperately not to disturb her his fingers tingled as the blood flowed back into them. With worry laden eyes, he looked over their carefully laid plans that were haphazardly strewn across the table. Small black an white figures were doing a delicate ballet around Grimwauld place. Everything looked so cut and dry. Last night he had been filled with hope. He had been sure that he would be able to go in with them in a hale of blazing glory. But now, as he realize the truth of the situation.

This would be a battle he had to fight on his own.

With deliberate care, he stood and tip toed across the expanse of the common room, listening to the familiar sounds of Ron's snores fading into the background as he mounted the stairs to the dormitory. Once inside, he closed the door behind him and headed straight for the trunk at the foot of his bed and began to riffle through it with a sense of urgency getting jabbed by various bits of debris that he had collected throughout the years.

"Come on, come on," he whispered. "Ah-ha!" He knew the instant he felt the silky fabric of his father's invisibility cloak, he had to act fast. The others would be up soon. Sirius would be sending him a message soon. If he didn't hurry, there was no way he would be able to get away, he wouldn't be able to face his fate...

"What are you doing?" Hermione's voice rang out from behind him, sharp with anger and accusation.

He took a moment to answer. He had been hoping that she would stay asleep so he could avoid the hardest part of his leaving. Harry knew that greater wizards than he had faced the Dark Lord and fallen. What hope did he really have? At least if he did go, however, his friends and family would be safe for a little bit longer. It was all he could hope for.

"I have to do this. I need to save my mum. Our plans, they won't work and you know it."

"No," she shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I won't let you."

"It's not your choice."

"Are you blind?" she almost shouted with outrage. "We have a plan! This could work!"

"We both know that's not true. If we all go, you all will die trying to help me and he will kill my Mum for bring you along. Then he will kill me! At least if I go alone, he won't have the chance to get to you! You can move on!"

"You are being irrational! Just let us help you." The vulnerability in the words combined with the tears swimming in her eyes almost broke Harry's resolve.

Harry shot a silencing charm at the door before dropping the cloak and rushing forward to her. "Hermione, I can't risk anyone else for my sake. The reason he has my mum is because of me. I can't give him anything else. I have to end it one way or another."

"Please..." she sobbed into his chest, hating herself for feeling the need to beg him, hating herself for crying. "I love you..."

_Instead of answering her, he cupped her cheeks in his hands and framed her face. Losing himself in her big brown eyes for a moment before capturing her lips with his in a fervid kiss. He felt his soul pouring into her as the kiss became harsher and deeper. The urgency to touch er and be touched was like a fire burning through him and melting away all of his fear of the impending fight and his worry of losing. All that mattered was that her hands were working on the buttons of his crisp white shirt._

_Breaking the breathless kiss, he fumbled with the knot holding her red dress around her neck. When it was free, he let his kisses trail delightfully over her collar bone, dlighting in her soft moans as he ravenged her silky skin. Her nails dug gently into the tight muscles of his chest, lightly grazing his nipples. he let out a ragged breath and reached back up to kiss her again in desperation. His arousal was straining painfully in his trousers as she reached between them and began to fumble with his belt._

_"Hermione...?" he gasped._

_She looked up at him with a primal savage look in her eyes._

_"Are you sure-" he began, but she cut him off, pressing her lips more firmly to his than before as she succeeded in freeing him from the painful confines of his pants. The feel of him was too much for her to bare. With a quick movement, she wrapped her legs around his waist._

_Harry's knees nearly buckled as he felt the warm heat of her center bare against him. Wanting to savor the moment, he tried to trail kisses down her neck. Hermione, however, was not one known for her patience. At times, Harry had found her bossiness to be a bit grating. But as she used her weight to push his full length into her and she demanded, "NOW!" he had never been more turned on in his life._

_They looked at each other, shock spreading across their faces as they looked at one another, lust and love and need bruning beneath their expressions. Trying not to trip over his pants that were now pooled around his ankles, he made his way way to the bed, seeing stars as every movement sent sensation roaring into all of the nerves in his body. After an eternity, his legs hit the edge of one of the four poster bed and they both collapsed. Not missing a beat, their bodies began to wrtithe against one another in a dance as old as time._

_"Harry!" Hermione shouted, as the heat began to build up in her making her insane with need._

_Groaning, Harry felt the sharp pricks of her nails scratching into her back. It was more than he could take. "Oh.. Hermione!" he shouted, thrusting harder than ever before exploding deep with in her. He could feel her constrict around him as she too came to her though it was the most rushed love making he had ever experienced, he had never felt closer to anyone in his life._

For a moment, they simply clung to one another, waiting for their hearts to slow and their breathing to regulate. Neither wanted to break the spell of what had transpired. Neither wanted to believe that it was goodbye.

"Please, Harry," Hermione finally whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "Don't go..."

His throat clenched. "I love you," he whispered against her breast. Never had he meant anything more in his life than he did in that moment.

"No!" she cried out pulling his face back up to hers. Renewed tears were already pooling in her eyes. "Don't do that! Don't say goodbye."

Harry wanted nothing more than to stay with her forever. "I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone."

Their eyes locked for a moment of intensity. "Then don't go."

He didn't answer. Instead, he reached out his hand and wordlessly called his wand into his hand. Tears began to roll down his cheeks as he a flash of red light shot out of his wand and hit Hermione. Her eyes closed immediately and her breathing slowed. Hugging her for a moment longer, he let his tears roll off of his cheeks. Then, with robotic movements, he pushed away from her stunned form.

Taking great care he redressed her and tucked her safely under the covers of his bed, kissing her forehead gently. Nostalgia flooded him as he looked around the room that had been his safe place for so many years. He remembered talking about quidditch with Ron, studying, playing games of explosing snap, drinking firewhiskey smuggled from the kitchens and finally making desperate love to the woman he had only recently realized was the most amazing person he had ever met.

Throwing on his cloak, Harry turned his back on it all and strode from the room.

As he walked down the seemingly endless corridors of Hogwarts castle, a sliver figure passed by him, racing in the other direction. It was Sirius's potronous. He was calling them down to the main hall. In moments Ron and Kate would wake up to see that he wasn't there. They would find Hermione and figurative alarms would sound as they notified Sirius and his. It wouldn't be long.

Stopping suddenly, Harry turned and walked ten paces back before turning again in front of a stretch of blank wall. In his head, he repeated, "I need a way out of the castle." After his third trip back and forth, he turned to the small wooden door. He pushed it open and taking a deep breath, followed the stone tunnel into the darkness, all the while feeling for when the enchantments that kept the castle secret lifted. Nearly at the end of the sloping tunnel, he felt them vanish only to be replaced with an overwhelming sense of dread.

His gut told him that this was the right path. It felt as if his whole life had been heading toward this one moment. Harry knew that he was making the right decision in leaving his friends and family out of it. This was the way things had to be. Feeling slightly reassured, he took several deep breaths and flourished his wand. A harsh squeezing sensation flooded his body cutting off his senses and disappeared with a loud crack.


	18. Letter

**A/N: I apologize for the wait. I actually wrote this chapter twice and there was a tragic accident involving an accidental shut down that erased the first draft. However, I think the second is WAY better and I hope you likey! Thank you all so much for all the reviews and helpful comments. They have added fuel to the fire and I am proud to present to you the longest chapter I have written so far. I hope that it will answer most if not all of the questions that were broached to me. If you have any more, feel free to shoot me a PM. I love the universe I have molded here and would be happy to lighten the fog a bit!**

**Keep the reviews coming and keep fueling the fire! Much love! Enjoy!**

It took a few moments for Ron to realize that the speaking he was hearing was not coming, as he had been dreaming, from a sandwich had been trying to devour him, but from the silvery form of a large dog that was sitting in front of where he had drifted off into sleep on the common room couch. Getting up suddenly and knocking a still very asleep Kate into consciousness, he grasped at its words trying to catch the last of the message before the image faded.

"….not a traitor. Please meet us in the Headmaster's office as soon as possible. We must move quickly," Sirius's voice said from the mouth of his patronous. It said something more; however, Ron didn't catch it as his arm was being tugged on insistently by his girlfriend to his side.

"Bloody hell, Kate! I just missed the last bit abou—" he began.

Speaking over him however, she all but shouted. "Where are Harry and Hermione?"

Unconcerned, Ron took his time stretching before he answered. "They are probably up in Hermione's dormitory asleep." Cracking his painfully cramped neck he added, "We should have done the same…."

Kate, already on her feet, rushed towards the stair that led to the headgirl's chambers only to return with a look of panic on her face. "Ron, they aren't in there."

"What?"

"No sign. The bed looks like no one's been there for at least a week."

Ron bypassed her and led the way up to the dormitory he shared with Dean, Seamus, and Harry. "Harry?" he called, becoming increasingly concerned. "Hermione?"

The door to the room was bolted tight. He took a few moments jiggling the handle before Kate pulled out her wand and muttered, "Alohomora!" causing it to open with an audible click. As the door swung open, they both immediately knew that the something was amiss. All of the curtains on all of the four poster beds were closed, a rather uncommon site considering none of the inhabitants had been by to close the curtains since before the break. Frantically, they ripped at the curtains starting on opposite sides of the ring of beds and meeting at Harry's bed. With swift movements, they each yanked open one side, jumping slightly at the sight of one another on the opposite sides of the bed. "Don't _do_ that!" Ron said, gripping his heart dramatically.

"Ron!" Kate said looking down at the unnaturally still form of Hermione tucked beneath the pin straight covers. Leaning over to test her pulse, Kate breathed a sigh of relief. "She's been stunned."

Pulling out his wand, Ron muttered "Enerrvate."

Immediately, Hermione sat straight up in the bed. Both Ron and Kate stepped back in surprise. "Harry?" she shouted looking around desperately, only vaguely noticing her rescuers as she sprang out of bed, looking through all the beds, panic apparent on her face. Not finding him, a look of deep hurt and fear flooded her body in a series of cold chills as she sprinted out of the room.

"Hermione?" Ron ventured.

"He's left."

"Left?"

"Yes, we need to get to the Order immediately."

"They're in Dumbledore's office," Ron supplied, stumbling down the stairs behind her. "But Hermione, wait—"

"We can't Ron, he's going to sacrifice himself."

#-#-#-# **An Hour Earlier** #-#-#-#

"I just finished the headcount," Tonks said, pushing the door to the Headmaster's office closed.

"And?" Sirius prompted impatiently. He shot a look at James who was still rubbing his chafed wrists as he sat down.

"They weren't there."

Silence met the proclamation. No one wanted to admit the meaning behind the fact that Severus Snape and Peter Pettigrew were missing.

Sirius broke the silence with a long stream of profanity. "Snivellus I can understand, but _Peter_!" He punched the pillar ignoring the blinding pain. "I'm going to kill him."

"No," James said shaking his head. "Wormtail would never do this to Lily, to _Harry_! How could you say that? He's a marauder! We protect our own."

"Well obviously little Wormy missed the message," Sirius muttered through gritted teeth.

James ran his fingers through his hair in a perfect mimic of his oldest son. "Just because he's not here? That is a poor excuse for throwing him to the wolves. Anything could have happened. We should be worried about him. The Dark Lord could have him too!"

"Actually," McGonagall spoke up from where she was seated in the large chair behind the headmaster's desk. Though she still looked tired, she had now donned clean robes and, thanks to Madame Pomfery's ministrations, was on the mend. "I tend to agree with Sirius. I don't recall seeing him with Albus when…" Her voice trailed off at the pain of saying the late headmaster's name.

"What are you saying?" James spat.

"Prongs!" Sirius said, shaking his best mate out of his defense. "It's not just about tonight. Just look at him! We have barely seen him for weeks. Despite the escalating heat, he still has time to take a trip to Italy?"

"But—"

"And, what about the fact that he was nowhere to be found the night of Moony's death despite the fact that he was _supposed_ to be on the mission with him?"

"Remus was changing! He couldn't very well—"

"_And_," Sirius pressed on. "What about the fact that when the kids were spying on the Deatheaters, they kept referring to a 'rat' that the Dark Lord was listening to? James, this is the last straw! We've been ignoring the signs for too long now."

James's face was frozen in stubborn denial. There was no way that he could reconcile the idea that Peter was a traitor. In fact, he was about to open his mouth to argue the fact when Professor McGonagall raised her hand for silence.

"Gentlemen," her voice was not raised, but the finality in the word was enough to get both men into their seats. "Whether or not Mr. Pettigrew and Mr. Snape are traitorous, is not the important issue at hand. Right now we have some hard decision to make concerning Mrs. Potter."

James's annoyance visibly vanished as worry took over his expression. Sirius got up and moved to his best mate's side, clapping a comforting hand on the man's shoulder, all animosity disappearing.

"Do you think there was a reason that he picked tonight to act?" Kingsley asked, concern written on his face.

"I cannot say," McGonagall said, resigned.

"Ah-hem!"

Everyone's attention snapped to a dark portrait of one Phineas Nigellus Black. He looked as surly as ever, but his gruff features seemed to be highly amused by the chaos concentrated in the former office. "I was meant to pass on a message to you."

"Yes?" Minerva prompted.

"You were left a note by the noted late headmaster."

"What? Where? I searched the office myself! There is nothing here! Even his memories in the pensive were destroyed!"

"Well, it was hidden of course!" Phineas drawled as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Leastwise why would I lower myself to talk to _you_?"

McGonagall looked at him with extreme annoyance. "_Well_?"

"He told me to tell you that it is hidden in the back left leg of the desk. You have to tickle the third knot with your smallest finger and whisper the words 'Lemon Drops forever'."

Instantly McGonagall made to bend down to reach it, only to rise wincing from her not completely healed wounds. Without prompt, Tonks moved forward and quickly retrieved a thick roll of parchment sealed with the Hogwarts crest in thick red wax. McGonagall wasted no time in breaking the seal and reading aloud,

"_To the Esteemed Members of the Order of the Phoenix:_

_"If you are reading this, one of my more fascinating testiments, I have most likely fallen. I am pleased to report, however, that I have not left you unprepared. For if I am dead, then I have finished my final mission and made the downfall of Tom Riddle possible. _

_"Before I press on, I must first apologize to many of you. I have used you all as means to end this war—most of the time without your knowledge. I beg your forgiveness as I was simply trying to end this war with as few lives lost as possible. That being said, I must tell you all that I have kept a dreadful secret from you for a long time. _

_"Four years past, an informant that I shall leave nameless, told me of a plot hatched by Tom Riddle when he was still in school to become immortal. You can see the appeal, of course. He could live forever while holding absolute power. No price would be too great for such a thing. _

_"In order to become this all powerful being, Riddle split his soul into seven separate parts and place those pieces of his soul into significant objects in his life. This is an ancient and vile magic. The result of which is an object called a horcrux. As long as one of these bits of Tom are floating about, his reign of terror could never be ended, only postponed._

_"It has been my mission and that of several of you to find these objects and destroy them at all costs. _

_"As of putting these words to paper, I have just destroyed the last known Horcrux. I believe there were seven in total. I have no doubt that my efforts, as of now previously unknown, will be noticed. So, to prepare you for what is to come, I will lay out all of the intelligence I have learned over the past four years. I must admit it is quite a lot, so in this missive I will not be able to give you much more than vague ideas and notions The details, though fascinating, are too many to illuminate in a series of books, let alone one letter. I must also admit that I have put on of you in great danger to set up an opportunity for Tom Riddle to be taken down forever. I can only hope that you will understand, the opportunity was too great to pass._

_"I became aware that in the past year Tom Riddle has begun to rule with increasing paranoid. Power has that effect on people. The more one has, the more one fears its loss. Riddle became once again fascinated with a family that I had been hiding. Rather than discourage the fascination of this idea, I fed this distraction so I could finish my work destroying him on my own front. After all the defenses of the Potters had lasted; I had no reason to believe that they would be put in danger. That was, until the passing of Remus Lupin._

_"With his passing, I knew that if the destruction of Riddle's soul didn't bring him to me, his curiosity about why I had so long hidden the Potters would. I do not hold that he will be kind to me in getting the information. When he breaches my thoughts he will have access to the prophecy that inspired me to protect the Potters in the first place. I have no doubt that even if he is aware that the prophecy has already been fulfilled, he will attempt to tie up the loose end that is Harry Potter. This final act of paranoia will prove to be his last._

_"I am aware that the Order has been infiltrated by at least two spies. Until recently, I could not be sure of their identity and even after finding out for sure, I kept silent in hopes that the same paranoia Riddle feels would not infect our group. In fact, it is they who will reveal themselves in the gathering of the Order before the final battle. The traitors will not be present, for they will be at their master's side for what he deems to be the end of the Order of the Phoenix—his last great opposition. He will chose a time when the informants have told him that everyone will be together so he can hit you all at once. I have a few ideas of locations where this could happen, though I am fairly certain he will attack our stronghold at number twelve Grimwald Place. _

_"With Riddle believing he has the upper hand, I have no doubt he will be at his most vulnerable._

_"Attached are ideas and tools that you might find useful. Please use this knowledge well and know that in my death, I leave you the only think I have. _

_"Hope for a better tomorrow._

_"Your Faithful Servant,_

_"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore"_

As her voice faded leaving all those gathered in a stunned silence, mixed emotions flooded everyone-ranging from the shaking rage and betrayal of James to overwhelming hope of the older members who had lived close to thirty years under the oppression of an unbeatable enemy. No one seemed able to speak. Most were still as statues afraid to take a breath.

Sirius finally broke the ring, coming forward to snatch up the remaining sheets of parchment that McGonagall had set aside while reading the letter. He let out a low whistle of admiration. "Well the man was a bloody genius that's for sure," he muttered turning over a highly detailed map of Grimwald place including several secret passages that seemed to be recent additions. Behind that was a smaller version of his expanded maps of Hogwarts followed by a map of the Potter's new home. Sirius tossed aside the latter two and examined the first, watching curiously as dots with their names above them paced around his childhood home. He had to repress a surge of anger at seeing the names 'Peter Pettigrew' and 'Severus Snape' emblazoned upon the page.

"How could he do this to _my_ family?" James said in a harsh whisper.

"I don't think now is neither the time nor the place to be condemning the decisions made by Albus. We must simply use what he has given us to save Lily and end this war," McGonagall said, looking more closely at the map of Grimwald place that Sirius had spread out and enlarged in front of them.

"I think she's right, Prongs," Sirius said attempting to placate his friend while hiding his own rage at what he had just seen.

"How can you say that?" He shouted. "What gives him the right to bloody play _God_ with our lives? Lily could _die_!"

"Yes, and if he hadn't done it, we would never have the opportunity to bring peace!"

"So we should just sacrifice her? For the cause?"

McGonagall stood at that, the glower on her face frightening enough to make him remember how terrified he had been of her in school. "Mr. Potter! That is quite enough! While I cannot condone his actions, I have no doubt in believing that Dumbledore did as he saw fit to promote the greater good. While we will all try to save Lily, the truth is—when we took our vow to join the Order—each and every one of us pledged to devote ourselves to fighting this enemy with everything we had, up to and including death. She was well aware of the risks as were you!"

Her harsh words were a slap on the face, burning a hole through his cloud of rage.

"Now," she continued, "if you have nothing to help with this meeting, then I suggest you remove yourself immediately. If would, however, like be of some constructive help in this mission, then I suggest you voice those opinions and keep everything else to yourself."

Resisting the urge to let his temper get away from him, James took a deep breath and started towards the desk where the other order members were already moving to look at the plans. Sirius clapped him on the back, and said in a low voice that only James could here, "Don't worry, brother, we will get her back, and after we do? We will hunt ourselves a squealing rat."

James followed Sirius's gaze, catching site of Peter's location on the map. Having an outlet for his anger that wasn't Dumbledore made it much easier to focus. A smile that was more of grimace spread across James's lips and he nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Shall I call Harry?" Sirius asked aloud.

McGonagall gave a slight disapproving look, before nodding her reluctant assent.

Moving away, he produced a large patronous dog gave his instructions and sent it to find the oldest Potter boy.

Little more than ten minutes later, the doors of the Headmaster's office burst open. All the heads turned to a hysterical Hermione.

"Hermione?" Tonks said, stepping forward and taking the girls arm attempting to calm her. "Slow down, love, we can't understand a word you're saying."

However they didn't have to wait for her to calm. Just then, Kate and Ron burst through the still open door.

"Harry's gone!" Ron gasped.

"What?" James and Sirius burst in unison.

"He left some time while we were asleep. He stunned Hermione when she tried to stop him," Kate cut in.

"Why?" James demanded, stepping forward and giving his daughter a powerful shake.

"He—didin't—w-want any of—u-us to d-die—for him!" Hermione barely managed to gasp.

Without bothering to wait for plans or further explanation, James bellowed a harsh "Stay here!" to his daughter and, wand at the ready, raced from the room to save his wife and oldest son, Sirius hot on his heels. In that moment, everything was around him was lost.

There was no more reason.

Only pure, unadulterated rage.

~*\/*~


	19. Bravery

**A/N: Alright, I can't wait to see the reactions to this one. I am sooooo sure that there will be flames and anger, but trust me! It will all work out in the end(which will happen in close to two chapters). If you are angry with this, please, PLEASE stick with me. Like I said it will all be better! The next chapter is already almost done, then I have a little editiong and it will be up to take away any fears you may have. **

**Thank all of you for your faves and comments! Fuel the inspiration with more! And if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to shoot me a PM! Love you all and I hope you enjoy!  
**

Even when Harry came completely through the tiny invisible space between places, he still felt the blackness of the space pressing in as he walked carefully down the sidewalk. His wand was tucked safely up the sleeve of the dinner jacket he had worn for Christmas and the invisibility cloak still hid him from the site. Spotting the familiar worn out stoop guarded by two masked Deatheaters, he paused. The dusty dry snow that had begun falling the night before was now blowing viciously, biting at the edges of his cloak the way fear and uncertainty tugged at his resolve. Standing straighter, he checked his hidden wand once more and whipped the cloak off dramatically.

Both Deatheaters yelped in surprise, pointing their wands at him. "What the….?" One began, but Harry cut across his thought.

"I am Harry James Potter, son of Lily Potter. I was requested. Take me to Him."

The shorter of the two let out a gruff laugh as he flicked his wand sending ropes out of the tips that snaked so tightly around Harry that he had to fight to keep upright. "Cheeky little blighter, innee?"

"Too right," the other replied, his face alive with amusement. "_Cricio!_"

Searing pain burned through every nerve in Harry's brain, bringing him to his knees as an involuntary scream slipped past his lips. In the back of his mind hidden in the anguished pain, he heard their laughter as he writhed before them. For a moment, he thought he would go mad as he thrashed about. The pain had no end as it pulsed through him. Then, just as quickly as it began it stopped altogether. All of his muscles went slack and he lay there panting, only now becoming conscious of his screams and forcing himself to cease.

"Ain't so cheeky now, are ya?" the shorter Deatheater laughed, pulling Harry up by his hair. The other took Harry's glassed from his face and threw them to the ground, crushing them beneath his heal.

Harry fought the urge to struggle, knowing that it would do no good. He was shaking with rage, but he reigned it in. These two were not the cause, simply the symptom. When he spoke, his voice sounded small and pleading. "Take me to Him," he said, allowing himself to he dragged through the doors.

"With pleasure."

Even though it was the same place he been at no more than a day previous, everything about Grimwald place was different. Bits of debris and large quantities of dust were all that remained of the entry way. The sweet smelling aromas of Christmas dinner had been replaced the sharp metallic scent of blood and a the chilling bite of the city in winter. Everything about the place seemed dark and gloomy, where before it had been bright and festive. Christmas decorations that hung limply from the fixtures and a few of the still-standing doors, seemed pathetic and wilted. The house was diseased, with Deatheaters hanging in the doorways like the parasites they were. Voldemort had done to the place what he had done to the world—corrupted it with hate and darkness. Harry silently thanked the two thugs for destroying his glasses so that he wouldn't have to remember the vision in sharp clarity.

The shock of seeing the destroyed entrance compared to the shock of seeing the gathering in the main sitting room.

All thoughts of his own pain left Harry when he saw his mother in the center of a group of black robed people. He would have cried out an run forward had they not stopped him. Even in his blurred vision, he could barely take it in. Blood streaked down her almost unrecognizably battered face. The gorgeous dress she had been so excited to wear, the one James had been complimenting her on all Christmas night, was shredded, exposing angry red skin beneath. Bruises trailed up her mostly exposed thighs in a way that made Harry fight back a gag as he looked away. Yet even with her hands tied so tightly behind her back and her hair matted with blood, Lily looked on at the Deatheaters stubbornly, refusing to let her captors take away the dignity of her sharp tongue and brave ginger attitude.

"…Is that the best you can do?" She yelled brazenly. "I thought I said do your worst!"

"Eager little whore aren't you?" A young white-blonde haired boy around Harry's age snarled.

She spat at him defiantly. "You are nothing more than a child!"

"Why I ought to-" He raised a closed fist to her, and was stopped short by the man who must have been his father.

"Now, now, Draco. We mustn't kill the hostage before the main event," he drawled.

Harry struggled against his captors, who laughed as they forced him to watch.

"What about you _Peter_?" Lily spat, attempting to stand and failing pathetically. "Don't you want a piece, you bloody rat bastard? You _betrayer!_"

Harry's eyes left his mother and shot instead to the gathered crowd. It felt as though his head might explode in rage. Standing next to the grand fireplace, Peter Pettigrew, stood fiddling nervously with the buttons of his robes. The man looked at her nervously, sweat pouring down his face. His gazed kept flicking spasmodically between his best friend's wife and the man who was the cause of it all-their leader.

"Come now, Lils-"

"_Don't call me 'Lils', _you filth"

A slow hissing high-pitched laugh escaped his seated master before the man could answer. And Harry tore his eyes from his mother and the pathetic flea bag that was Lord Voldemort. He was the cause of all of this. He was the one who had placed Harry's family in danger; and as Harry looked at the snake man, a flood of rage pulsed through him stronger than any he had ever felt.

Struggling hard against his captors, he managed to head but one of them in face causing the man to cry out in pain.

Everyone's attention snapped to the three hiding in the entry.

A slow smile split Voldemort's snake like features, his thin slit nostrils flaring with glee. With one hand he beckoned them into the light of the dim room as a laugh began to blossom from his lips. The malicious nature sent an involuntary chill up Harry's spine as the others in the room began to join him. Soon the room filled with hateful laughs. Lily looked on at Harry, horror spreading across her face as she saw the mask of pure an adulterated hate that seethed beneath the green orbs. He had eyes only for Voldemort and they begot death.

"Silence!" The Dark Lord hissed. Immediately the sound turned off as if someone had flipped a switch. It was unnerving how his face could go so suddenly blank. "Look who we have here!" Walking around Lily-apparently deaf to her cries for her son's life-he walked straight for the boy and place a long sharp fingernail under his chin. "The lamb to the slaughter."

Another slow bout of laughs filled the air as Harry struggled violently again.

"Come, come! Get _comfortable_." At the last words, Harry felt Voldemort raise his wand as searing pain shot through him once more toppling him to the ground. This time, however, he did not feel the hopelessness. Rather he felt toyed with. A more insulting torture than the deatheaters had given him.

"NOOOOO!" Lily cried, her son's pain causing her more injury than anything that had happened in the last twenty four hours. No one paid her any heed as Voldemort released the curse and undid the silencing spell on Harry.

For a moment he was in too much pain to speak. But as his breathing became more even, he shouted. "You bloody _bastard_!"

"Come now, Harry," Voldemort covered Lily's ears. "Not in front of mummy!"

"What have you done to her, you fuck-" his words were cut off as pain hit him once more.

"Manners!" Voldemort hissed. "And I did nothing to her. I wouldn't touch a Mudblood. But you see, my men have needs."

"You-"

"SILENCE!" he shouted. "You will speak when spoken to!"

Harry seethed, convincing himself that it was more to save his energy rather than fear of the pain. In truth it was both. With rapped attention, the crowd watched as the two wizards sized one another up with the battered woman between them. Voldemort walked back to Harry lifting him magically into a standing position with unnatural grace and stopped with his nose an inch from the boy's face before turning dramatically to his audience. "You all are gathered here to witness the second of three historical events that will happen on this Christmas holiday. You see, yesterday, I defeated my greatest enemy. As Albus Dumbledore fell, he set off a chain of events that left the door open for me to destroy the last thing keeping me from total domination. Tonight, I destroy his last hope for a filthy mudblood-loving future." A cheer rose up from those gathered which Voldemort silenced with a gracious hand. "You see, the old man still clung to the notion that I am weak enough to be overthrown by a dead prophecy which entangled you to me. He thought you were the hope for the world. He was half right. You are hope-hope for _my_ world. With you I build myself to something stronger than before!" Another cheer went up. Lily was sobbing and Harry was gritting his teeth in resolve.

He turned swiftly back to Harry. "Do you see the beauty of the plan?" He held up three fingers and ticked them off as he made each point. "Kill the leader of the resistance. Kill the hope left by the leader. Kill the resistance."

"Let my mother go!" Harry shouted, barely listening.

"I don't think I can do that Harry. You see, I want her to watch. And then I want everyone in the Order of the Bloody Phoenix exterminated like the cockroaches you are one by one by one."

"Please!" Lily said staggering to her feet "I'll do anything! Just don't hurt Harry!"

Voldemort's smile widened as he raised his wand dramatically. "_Avada Kedavra!_" he shouted, his wand pointing at Harry.

Harry closed his eyes and waited for it. Waited for the flash of pain and then the free feeling he had read about from the ghosts of Hogwarts. He waited for the life to flee from his body in one woosh.

Instead, he heard a woman's scream and the thunk of a body hitting the floor in front of him.

Eyes snapping open, Harry beheld his mother's eyes staring back at him nothing more than lifeless green orbs. "No," he whispered, dropping to his knees beside her. Unable to cry, unable to accept that she was indeed laying before him stone dead, he just stared.

"Stupid _MUDBLOOD!_" Voldemort raged.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Harry roared, struggling with his ropes like a wild animal. "Why don't you fight me! If you're so powerful and the prophecy isn't true, than face me like a MAN! You killed her! Let me free so I can face you myself! You _bloody COWARD."_

Voldemort smiled as if he had just been handed his favorite candy. "Never let it be said that I am an unjust Lord!" With the flick of his wand, Harry's magical bindings were gone.

Harry didn't bow. He didn't hold his wand at the ready and step back five paces. He didn't even follow any of the proper rules of dueling. As soon as he was loose, Harry came flicked his wrist to the side allowing his wand to come to hand and he fought.

He fought like he had never fought before. Not enraged and erratic, but graceful and calculating as if he had been preparing for this moment his entire life. Voldemort, who had been laughing his cold high pitched laugh, let one spell through and it knocked him back two steps. A frown pulled over his snake-like features as he was pushed back another step. Concentration took over him as he dueled the young man. It had been a long while since he had actually ever allowed his prey the chance to fight back and as a red jet of light shot narrowly past his ear, he knew why.

"Do you want to know about your Mum's final day, Potter," the Dark Lord taunted, throwing an unforgivable curse whirring past Harry's shoulder. "Do you want to hear how that whore opened her legs to every Deatheater in this room?"

Harry tried his best to keep his concentration from drifting, he fought to keep the anger from taking over his movements.

"Even dear Wormtail had his go. You should have heard the screams! It was a symphony! She begged for torture."

"LIAR!" Harry said, letting himself slip a little. Pain shot through his veins as a well placed Cruciatus curse hit him square in the chest. His screams filled the room as he went to a knee, doing his best to keep hold of his wand.

"She liked it, the little mudblood whore." He let up on the curse, coming close to Harry as he did so. "Then again, she's always liked the feel of pureblood flesh."

Not skipping a beat, Harry stood sending sharp splinters of wood in Voldemort's direction forcing him back, though the front simply bounced off a hastily made shield harmlessly. "Never speak of her! You aren't worthy to lick the grime from her cauldron!" Harry yelled as he slashed his wand at his opponent causing a slight spray of blood to shoot from his cheek.

With an angry hiss, Voldemort said, "Enough!" Raising his wand he hit drew the power to end the duel. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Time seemed to slow. All Harry could hear was the quick beating pace of his heart echoing loudly in his mind. It was coming. He could feel it as soon as the Dark Lord drew breath to cast the curse. His movement was too slow to duck and this was a curse that could not be blocked. In stead he screwed his eyes shut and waited as the words echoed through his brain seeming to be made of more voices than one.

Then everything stopped. The silence that followed echoed about with such a deafening roar that he was sure he was dead. But as a general sound of confused voice permeated the silence and several loud popping sounds followed, Harry opened his eyes to the most unlikely sight.

All around him, members of the Order of the Phoenix were appearing out of the wowork. Spells and curses began flying in the aftermath as the two sides clashed, more in reflex and confusion than in intent to kill. Spells flew all around them like strange firecrackers lending everything a hazy toxic glow.

Harry, however, had his eyes fixed on something far more interesting.

In the center of the now chaotic room lay the sprawled body of Lord Voldemort. His eyes open and his mouth agape in his final yell. Behind him, the trembling figure of Hermione Granger stood, her eyes wide with shock, her wand still pointed in the place where Voldemort had been standing.

A smile ghosted at the corners of Harry's mouth as he looked across the way at his savior. The battle seemed to melt around them. All he could think about was making his way to her and kissing her until both were breathless.

The battle was over and good had won.

Struggling to stand, Harry started to make his way over to Hermione. Every step was an effort. It felt as though his legs were made of wet sand barely able to hold his weight as he trudged through the slippery piles of debris. The strength it took to walk was draining him so much he felt as though he might pass out before making it to her. But he didn't care. All that mattered was getting to Hermione. Then everything would be alright.

Before him, tears were starting to roll down Hermione's cheeks. Her hand was trembling more as he approached, a look of absolute horror spreading across her face as her eyes fixed to somewhere behind him.

"Hermione!" he cried with joy as he stood a few feet in front of her. However, instead of jumping into his arms and kissing him, she had the look of deer frightened into movement. Scrambling a bit, she bypassed him and headed back to the spot he had come from, now in full blown hysterics. "Hermione?" he said, suddenly realizing that the battle had quieted and the Deatheaters that had not already disappeared were bound on the ground or stunned. All around them the order members were staring at the center of the room. _Why aren't they cheering that the Dark Lord's reign had just been ended? _Harry thought. Instead, the Order members were either beginning to cry or were simply standing there with pained looks on their faces.

As Harry's gaze locked back upon Hermione, however, a shiver ran down his spine. Cradled in her arms was a limp figure with messy black hair. The face was almost unrecognizable, but beneath the bruises and blood, Harry could see that he was undeniably…

…dead….

~*\/*~


	20. Fog

**A/N:**** I took a break after rewriting this chapter like a gazillion times. I wasn't sure where I wanted this to lead. There were lots of different paths it could have taken, but I think this is the best version I have written. I'm still not sure if I love it, but I hope you do. It is my longest chapter yet (I toyed with making it two). I am now rambling, so I will cut it short. This is the second to last chapter. I am not sure if I will be doing any more Harry Potter work. A few other things have caught my eye, but I do hope that you will still read my stuff! Remember to review and/or message!  
**

**SO! Without further ado, the second to last chapter of The Inevitable...  
**

"Hermione?"

She could hear the voice on the edge of her consciousness but the sounds of crying was drowning it out.

"Hermione!"

She forced her tear filled eyes to focus on the hand on her shoulder and followed it up to see Sirius, his face set in grim concern. "Hermione, darling, I need you to calm down and let go of Harry."

"But…but…" When she spoke, she realized that the crying had been coming from her. With more determination, she screwed her mouth shut and felt the tears pour hotly down her cheeks with greater ferocity.

"I need to look at him, Hermione," Sirius said gently, prying her hands from his godson. He had to admit the sight looked gruesome. Harry's forehead was clammy and smeared with blood, not to mention the blossoming bruises. It was the bruises that had drawn his attention away from James in the first place. Prongs was in a similar situation to Hermione-save instead of wailing, he was simply holding the broken form of his wife with the distant look of a man who may never smile again. Unlike with Lily, however, he might have been able to do something for his godson. "Hermione, I think he's still alive."

"What?" Hermione screamed suddenly more aware of the fact that she had been crushing him.

"I AM?" Harry said aloud though no one could hear him.

"Just barely. We need to get him to Saint Mungo's," He grabbed Kingsley's arm as he passed. "We need to see to Harry. Have James meet us?"

"Should he go with you?"

Sirius shot another pained look at James. "No. I will see to Harry. Get Tonks and Diggle to transport the prisoners to Hogwarts. It is the only safe place. You, get to the ministry. There is going to be an uproar and we will need you there."

"And what about the dead?" Kingsley asked.

"Take them to Hogwarts as well. Be sure you send advance notice to Minerva before you head over. She will be expecting attack. We don't need her shooting down any allies." Before turning back to his godson, he added, "Take care of him, Kings."

Nodding Kingsley turned and began shouting out and carrying threw orders.

Sirius took a deep breath. He wasn't used to being the cool headed in charge type person. That had always been James's job. _Things do change_, he thought. "Okay, Hermione?" he said aloud getting the girl's attention. He waited until her eyes fixed on him. "I am going to aparate straight into the emergency ward. I can't take both of you, so I need you to follow okay?"

She nodded mutely gathering her wand from the ground.

_This is so strange, _Harry thought as he watched. _Do I apparate along with them, or did I just get sucked along-_

Mid thought he got his answer as he suddenly found himself standing in the large emergency ward of Saint Mungo's Hospital. Something about the place seemed different to Harry as he followed the panicked doctors wave their wands about his body while others measured potions. The places seemed flat and blurry at the same time almost as if his spirit eyes didn't show him the full picture of what was going on. The fast movement was making him dizzy. So he walked out of the busy room and straight to the seat where Sirius was sitting in a chair next to Hermione. Both were watching, waiting on baited breath for him to awaken.

Hours seemed to pass full of waiting and sitting and hoping. All the time spirit-Harry could feel the blurry flat feeling taking over more and more. It was so bad at one point, he didn't notice his Dad sitting next to Sirius. In fact, he only noticed him when all three stood and to great the medic wizard walking toward them.

"Mr. Potter?" the man said.

"Yes?" James croaked, his face seemed made of stone that would crack if he let any emotion cross it.

"Your son's vitals seem to be stable. There seems to be some sort of residue from a spell on him."

"Residue? What kind of residue?" Sirius interjected.

The Wizard doctor wiped a hand across his forehead, a look of disbelief in his large brown eyes. "Well, that's were it goes a bit funny. You see, the residue is from a killing curse. We know, because it is a trace we usually find on dead bodies. But, you see, Harry is not dead."

"How is that possible?" James asked.

"We don't know. He is the only person in history ever to survive such a curse." He let the news soak in for a moment before pressing on. "We were able to heal his cuts and bruises mostly without scarring, though some of it will be permanent."

"Can we see him?" Hermione asked finally speaking, a look of hope blossoming in her eyes.

"I want you to be prepared for something."

"What? Is he…horribly disfigured?"

"No, however, he is comatose. We haven't been able to wake him. Given that he is the only person ever to come in in this condition, we aren't sure if he will ever wake again."

With this news James turned and walked down the long white corridor.

"Should I-" the med wizard began.

"No, no," Sirius cut off. "I'll take care of this. Hermione?" He cupped the girl's face in his hands and forced her to look at him. "You go in there and be with Harry. I have a few things I have to see to and then I will be back."

She nodded mutely and went through the doors.

#-#-#-#-#

Taking a deep breath Sirius headed down the hall. Pushing through the door at the end of the hall, he found James on the bottom step of the staircase that led to the next floor. His legs were pulled up to his chest with his elbows resting upon them, his fingers tangled in his messy mop. Tears swam in his eyes reflecting off of his spectacles though he defiantly held them back. Sirius could see him trying to be strong as his world crumpled about him and for a moment both just sat there soaking in one anothers comfort.

"I don't know what to do, Padfoot," James began softly. Instead of replying, Sirius simply waited until James took a few more deep breaths. "It was never me doing the hard bits with the kids. It was always her and now…now…" his voice cracked, "she's gone and Harry might be too. I just don't know what to do!" Tears finally began to flood down his face as Sirius pulled him close in a brotherly embrace.

"I know," he offered.

"What do I tell the kids? How do I do this without her? How? How _dare_ someone take her from me? I _need_ her, Sirius! I need her…." he dissolved. "And I never got to tell her I loved her one last time. How will she know?"

For a moment Sirius was at a loss. It had always been James giving him the pep talks as they grew up. It had always been James taking responsibility for their pranks. It had always been James sticking up for him to his crazy muggle hating parents. Now Lily was gone and he had to be there for James. But as he thought about it, and felt the redhot poker of Lily's loss touch his heart for the first time, he realized that this was bigger than any of those times put together. James needed a drive to keep going, keep being strong.

Sirius pulled his friend's chin up to meet his eyes. Tears were beginning to flow freely down his face as he spoke. "Now, listen here. She knew you loved her! And she gave herself in love for the child you two made together. There is nothing more brave that she could have done! And she loved you!"

"But what do I do?" He moaned in absolute anguish. He felt weak for not being able to hold his best mate's gaze. It was too hard because the man reminded him of Lily and even thinking of her brought back images of her broken and bloody body strewn out on the floor. He fought the urge to vomit at the thought. "She always knew, Sirius, always! How do I live with only half a heart…."

"For now, you put all that aside and you be strong!" He said through gritted teeth. "You be strong for Adam and Davie and Kate. But especially for Harry."

"Dear Merlin, Harry!" James moaned, running his hand through his hair once more in preparation for more grief.

"Yes, for Harry. He needs you to be strong."

He wanted to scream at being asked to be strong while his world was crumbling. He wanted to push everything away so it couldn't be close enough to hurt him anymore, but the anguish of the separation—even in his mind—pained him worse than anything. So instead he whispered, "What will happen to him?"

Sirius looked down, fearing what would happen to his friend if he lost his wife and firstborn on the same day. "He will be alright. Just clean up a bit and get to his side." He stood pulling James up with him. "I will go collect the others."

James nodded and turned towards the door stopping just before he opened it. "Thank you."

Without replying, Sirius withdrew his wand and vanished with a loud pop.

#-#-#-#-#

News began to swirl about world like a strong gale of wind breaking up the storm clouds that had polluted the sky for nearly fifty years. Countries all over the world were sending aid to the United Kingdom as efforts to control mass chaos and overly zealous partiers became out of hand. A quarter of the Ministry of Magic's staff was apprehended by the Order while many others disappeared. Many people on the Squad for the Regulation and Control of Muggles and Muggle-borns claimed to be under the Imperius curse when caught. But strangest of all, some of the higher-up Deatheaters simply killed over as if their life force was tied to that of the Dark Lord.

Like flies to a fresh carcass, reporters from all over the world swarmed Saint Mungo's for a glimpse of the boy they thought had saved the world. All the while, the girl who had _actually_ saved the world sat with the boy's father, making no attempt to claim her fame. Every day, Harry's vital signs became weaker and weaker. Every day Hermione, Sirius, James, Ron, Kate, David and even Adam took turns watching over him, desperately searching for any sign of his recovery.

Every day, they were disappointed. The doctors speculated it was there was a dark hazy spell residue hanging about his body kept his soul from coming back, but there was nothing they could do to help.

Harry himself watched over his family watching him. It was like he was encased in a glass box that got fuzzier and fuzzier by the day, he found his eyelids getting heavier, begging him to give up and rest. He feared the silence of sleep,feared that he may never wake up.

One day, two weeks after the battle, as the the magical community discussed whether or not to block out the past fifteen years from the memories of the muggles, Harry finally lost his battle with sleep. As he drifted off, he felt better than weightless. That is until something wrapped him hard over the back of the head that he wasn't sure he even had anymore.

"Ow!" He yelled, not knowing that he even had the ability until he had done it. As he opened his eyes, shock shook all thoughts of sleep from his mind.

In front of him stood his mother. She was not as she had appeared before she died or even how she appeared before a year before she died. Her hair was as past shoulder length and hung free around her shoulders gently gliding over her magenta robes. Her face was young, maybe his age or younger yet untouched by the lines of age. It took him a moment to realize it was Lily and not Kate. He had never thought before how much the looked alike.

"Harry wake up!" she said, her voice filled with worry that did not fit her appearance.

"Mum?" ha asked rushing forward to hug her like a child.

She cradled him in her arms for a long time, before holding him at arms length. In a very motherly fashion she took a handkerchief from her sleeve and used it to blot tears that were streaming unabashedly down his cheeks. "You must listen to me, son."

"Anything, as long as I get to be here with you."

She smiled sadly at him. "You cannot, my son. It is not your time."

"What do you mean?" he knew he was being whiny, but he couldn't help it. This was the woman he had just watched die and here she was perfectly in tact.

"Look, my dear," she said gently gesturing to her right.

His gaze followed her lead and he noticed for the first time that he was back in the hospital room. The edges of everything was still fuzzy, but he could see it better than he had been able to for a while. It was bright outside, but someone had drawn the shades so only thin strips of light were shining on the neat covers of his bed. Lots of bright flowers wishing him well surrounded his bed making the room look more like a shrine. All of them had encouraging messages to his well being—a few even sang in shrill annoying voices. Candy boxes were stacked haphazardly in the corner half buried in a pile of hippogriffs, unicorns, and dragons all charmed to change colors or flash messages of thanks and love. In the middle of it all, Hermione was curled up against his side breathing regularly. She looked beautiful when she slept, he thought. He contented himself to watch her sleep.

A noise from the door woke Hemione and caused Harry to turn just in time to see his father walk through the door carrying two steaming mugs. A opposed to Lily, James looked the most rundown he Harry had ever seen him. His clothes were disheveled as if he had slept in them more that once and his messy hair was even messier that it had been and was streaked with new patches of gray. If Harry hadn't known better, he would have thought his dad homeless. He had the same hallow look in his eyes that only ultimate loss brought, but as Hermione looked up at him, he tried to smile warmly. "Thought you could use a break," he said handing her a mug.

She took it thankfully and smiled taking a slow sip. "How are the others?"

"Safe at school. Hogwarts is still impenetrable. Thought it might be easier for them to stay there for a bit." A moment later he asked the question that was really on his mind. "How is he?"

She let her tired eyes turn back to Harry's motionless form. "Last night something happened. The nurses weren't sure what to make of it, but it was almost as if he...he...gave up."

James gulped. "Why didn't you send an owl?" he said forcefully grabbing her shoulders and shaking her.

Hermione looked as if she might burst into tears. "I...he...nothing happened!" she stammered. "After a moment, he just went back to how he was."

A moment later his face softened as he realized how much he had just scared her. Squeezing his eyes shut, James hugged Hermione. "I'm sorry, love," he said. "I didn't mean to yell."

She nodded into his shoulder.

"Listen, take a break. Ron is down in the mess hall. I'm sure he could use some company."

Nodding she left, wiping at her tears as she went.

James waited until he was alone to take a seat next to the bed and pick up his father's hand. Harry shifted uncomfortably feeling as if he were interrupting something. Lily laid a hand on his back, giving him a reassuring look as James opened his mouth and spoke. "Harry, I need you to come back." Harry had never heard such defeat in his Father's voice. "I can't lose both of you. You were so much like her. Always hotheaded and driven. I need that right now. I need you to be the boy that lived. Please, please come home to me, child."

Harry felt tears run down his face as the fuzziness took over the picture once more. He looked back at his mum. "Why did you show me that? I could be at peace! I could be with you and Remus and everyone else." With every word he spoke the bleary scene became darker and darker. He felt the sleep trying to take over him once more.

"Harry NO!" his mum shouted. "You must fight through the darkness! I showed you because I do not need you now, Harry. They do! They need to praise the hero of the hour. The Order needs you to be the hope for this new era. If you aren't there, there can be no balance."

Her insistence that she didn't need him stuck in his mind brightening the hospital scene and making her figure blurry. He forced himself to focus on her even though it made him feel more sleepy. "Why me? Hermione is the one who deserves the honor. She is the one that took him down." His head eyelids were barely open now.

"Fight Harry!" Lily said shaking him.

It was only when he found himself uncurling from the floor that he realized he had succumbed to the sleep once more.

For a moment, he fought and the fog lifted a little more. Lily once again gestured to their right. More flowers were surrounding his bed and some that he had seen on his previous visit were now wilted and molding in their murky water. The charms on some of his gifts were wearing out and the chocolates in the corner were nearly all gone. His own frame was gaunt and sickly. He barely looked like himself. He looked so broken, so weak. "How long has it been?" he asked worriedly.

"Two months."

"Two months!" he shouted alarmed.

"Time passes differently when you give in to the darkness."

"But why?"

"Eh-hem!" Lily cleared her throat, rolling her eyes back to the scene.

Reluctantly, he followed her gaze. Once more Hermione was laying next to him, but this time her eyes were wide open. He felt a surge of love for her that seemed to tug at him, making the hazy picture brighten up and seem almost as real as it had just after he was struck down. Hermione seemed to sense this too because she looked glowingly at his gaunt form with the shadow of a smile on her face. "Harry, love," she said timidly, looking towards the door to make sure that no one was coming in. "I found out some very important news today. I'm not ready to tell anyone else yet, not without you." She had a twinkle in her eyes as she lifted his hand and put it on her stomach. "We are going to have a baby."

"WHAT?" he yelled wide eyed, sure that she would hear it, but of course she didn't.

"I need you here and so does the baby," she pleaded.

All of a sudden the pull to the mortal world was so strong, he turned to see that his mother was now fading into the mists herself. "Wait! Mum!" he said reaching for her grasping her hand causing the scene around him to fade. He cursed loudly. Why was it that he had to let one of them go? Why couldn't he have both?

"Why is this happening?" he asked instead, needing to make sense of it all.

"You were wounded enough that you were given the choice between life and death. I was sent here to tell you that it is okay to let me go so you can live. I am the think that is holding you back Harry, but it would be selfish of me to keep you so I had to keep you hanging on long enough to see this. This is your reason."

"But—but..." he stammered.

"Please, son, don't waste my sacrifice!"

His memory flashed to her death and for the first time, he allowed himself to feel the loss of the dead instead of the living. It hurt more, but as he watched Hermione's shape solidify and the world following in sute things got a little better. He was falling back to where he belonged.

"I will be waiting, but until then I will always be watching over you," she said, though her voice had taken on a strange echo-like quality. "They need you, Harry don't let them down."

"But how will I see you again?"

"When your time comes, I will be ready to welcome you..." With that she was gone.

Harry felt himself settling back into the tight shell of his body and after a brief moment of panic, he realized that the darkness was because his eyes were naturally closed, not glazed with death. With great effort, he lifted his stiff eyelids to an angel.

"Hermione?" he forced out. His voice was scratchy from disuse.

Tears filled her eyes and she leaned in to kiss him. He barely had time to register her lips when she pulled away and looked him straight in the eye and said, "Welcome home, Harry Potter."

~*\/*~


	21. Sacrafice

**A/N:**** Here it is, the long coming final installment of "The Inevitable"...well...sort of. I love this story so much and I knew where it was going for a while. I know that there will be flamage, but please go gentle on me. This is my baby and I know that this chapter is highly depressing. This is the ending that I really like. I wrote four...I know I'm lame...but this is the one that put everything right. However, knowing that some of you would hate what happens, I am including one of the alternate endings posted as the next chapter. They are both sad, but in different ways. Even if you like this version I highly encourage you to read the other as well. I was more able to explain some of the questions I'm sure will pop up in that ending as opposed to this ending. Look at it like one of those 'Choose your own adventure' stories. **

**I would like to thank all of you for taking the time to read/review/fave this fiction. I know it is just fan fiction, but some of the reviews you guys gave were amazing and kept me writing. I love you all for them. I'm not sure if I will be writing too much more in Harry Potter world, but who knows? I am going to be doing more one shots because they are much easier to manage and I can do a lot of them at once instead of stringing people on for months. I have some up even now that you guys should check out! **

**I will stop babbling now. Again, many thanks! Be sure to let me know which ending you like better. Maybe if enough of you guys and gals like the alternate ending I will write a sequel!**

**FIVE YEARS LATER...  
**

The locker room reeked of sweat that hit like a wall as she entered the room. It had become familiar over the years, but it was still a bit of a shock. All around her, People were moving about with pregame jitters. Some were fine tuning the already immaculately groomed twigs in the latest broom put out by Firebolt. While still others were swinging beater bats around and making pregame jokes about the match they would soon be playing against Wimbourne Wasps. Amidst all the confusion, Hermione weaved her way though the sea of pumped wizards and witches carefully adjusting her son's hand so as not to lose him as the crowd greeted him enthusiastically.

Finally, behind the rows of benches, past the empty shower stalls and the metal lockers that were painted deep purple with a golden star, proud symbol of the Pride of Portree, she found the person she was looking for. He stood in front of a large white board with animated stick figures bouncing in formation. Occasionally he would raise his wand to change the positioning of a certain character before resuming his careful study. He was so engrossed, that he barely noticed Hermione walk up behind him and whisper into his ear. "I liked it better when the purple X was doing that weird swirly thing around the board."

Harry smiled and took a deep relaxing breath as he leaned into his wife.

"Daddy!" he heard a small voice say just before the source hit his leg in a big hug.

"Hello there, Sean!" he said picking up his son and turning to give his wife a quick kiss. "What brings you into the belly of the beast?"

"I brought you a present, Daddy!" he said turning expectantly to his mum.

Hermione reached into her small hand bag and pulled out a piece of paper. A grin broke across Harry's face at the site of the stick figure version of him—complete with lightening bolt scar on his forehead—zooming on his broom chasing an overly large golden snitch. Hermione had clearly enchanted because the figures were actually moving around on the page. "That is the best drawing I've ever seen!" Harry exclaimed swinging Sean around in a circle. "Thank you so much!"

"Did you see that I even got your scar from defeating the bad man!" he said proudly.

"I saw it!" he said, his smile fading slightly. "Now, I think that your Aunt Ginny had something for you over at her locker. Why don't you go check it out so I can talk with Mummy."

The second Sean's feet hit the ground, he was barreling off in the red head's direction.

Harry wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her in a way that might not have been appropriate in front of his teammates, but he didn't care. He pulled back and smiled down at her. "I love you!"

She leaned against his chest and sighed, listening to his heartbeat. "And I love you." Raising her head so that her mouth was pressed to his ear she whispered despite the fact that no one could hear over the noise. "How are you feeling?"

Harry stiffened, but didn't let go. Instead, simply kissed her hair and whispered, "Not so well, but I have a game to focus on. They are counting on me."

Hermione pulled back and examined his face worriedly. At only twenty-five, he was already showing signs of wear. His hair had flecks of gray and his eyes had bags under them from lack of sleep. He constantly looked as if he were recovering from a bad bout of flu. In the past year however, things had been getting worse. When sleep did visit him, his dreams were filled with nightmares of the man he had faced nearly five years prior taking over his body and one by one killing the people he loved. She had been working round the clock trying to figure out a remedy, but so far nothing had worked. "I wish there were something I could do," she said helplessly, running a finger across his forehead tracing his scar before cupping his cheek.

"We could talk to someone. You know? Tell them what _really_ happened that night. Maybe that has something to do with it," he suggested knowing the answer before the words left his lips.

"Harry, we've been through this! According to my research," Harry had a flashback of her in school telling him random facts about Hogwarts, "who actually performed the curse has nothing to do with what we are dealing with here."

"But—"

"Harry," she cut him off, "I cannot be the hero of the people that you are. I won't do it! I don't want the glory."

"Neither do I!"

"I know you don't! But I am sure that who or who didn't take down You-Know-Who has nothing to do with anything. Please don't ask me again..."

Harry sighed. "I'm sorry, love." He reached out and pulled her back to him.

As he held her, Hermione couldn't help but feel that she was letting him down and she didn't know why.

"It's almost time," he said, looking at his watch over her shoulder. "You had better take Sean and find your proper seats."

She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss just as Sean came running up to her holding a full sack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. He was babbling on about boggie flavor as Hermione turned with him to leave Harry to study some last minute plays.

Before she could fully turn, however, Harry grabbed her sleeve. She turned to him a questioning look on her face. "I know you are trying," he said pulling her into another bone crushing hug and giving her a kiss that made everyone in the vicinity whoop and cheer. He never wanted to let her go. "I love you."

She didn't respond, but continued to look at him with questions floating in her mind. The kiss reminded her of something, but she couldn't remember what. Just then, and announcer's voice boomed about the room and pitch announcing five minutes left until the start of the game. "I love you too," she said as Sean gave Harry one last hug, as they both headed out of the locker room.

Harry waited until they were gone and made his way to his locker. He hung the picture Sean had drawn him and held back a tear as he pulled out a thick envelope addressed to Hermione Potter and sealed with wax that was spelled only to be opened by her. Pulling out his wand, he muttered a few quick words. He took a deep breath, knowing what he had to do, his heart pounding with the finality of it all.

It hadn't taken him long after the dreams began to realize that something was seriously wrong with him. He had begun research of his own on the side, research that Hermione had refused to look at because of what would have to be done if he were right. After looking over several ancient and very dark texts, he had discovered the truth. Yet, even knowing, he had still hoped that he was wrong, hoped that his clever wife would find him a way out of this.

It appeared that she hadn't.

His hands were shaking as he closed the door to his locker and picked up his broom. "Right then!" He yelled to get everyone's attention. "Gather up!"

All of the players huddled up and looked at their captain. "There is a slight wind heading from the east, so make sure you correct. Remember, take your time and be precise! They many have speed but we have the agility and skill to win this!" There was a grumble of approval from them. "Now, let's get out there and make this our best game ever!" He almost choked up at the last words. His team didn't seem to notice as they all cheered happily and began heading for the pitch.

Harry hung back, reaching for his invisibility cloak.

"Harry?" Ginny asked causing him to jump and almost drop the cloak.

"I will be right out, just forgot something in my locker."

She nodded and followed the rest of the team out.

Silently, Harry slipped on the cloak and followed her onto the pitch stopping at the box being opened by a man in a black and white shirt. Harry had to time it just right, otherwise it might happen too soon. He had tried everything else and the thing inside him had stopped him every time. This was the only way.

As the balls began to release, Harry pulled out his wand and muttered a few choice words a one of bludgers. For a brief moment, the ball glowed green showing that the curse had worked had worked. The first contact it made with human flesh would spell the end the person it hit. It would leave no traces, he made sure. To make it fail safe, he had also jinx the thing to only track him ensuring that no one else would be hurt. It was even charmed to be invisible to the beaters until the curse was spent. The plan was perfect. Without giving himself any more time to think about it, Harry ran back to the locker room, stuffed his invisibility cloak and his wand (he didn't want the temptation of using it to destroy the bludger) back in his locker and grabbed his broom.

Taking a deep breath, he kicked off the ground.

#-#-#-#-#

"You did the right thing."

It took Harry a moment to place the voice, but when he saw her face he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "Isn't it strange how five years ago I couldn't wait to be dead and now I wish it could have worked out any other way?"

Lily smiled putting her arm around Harry's shoulders. She looked exactly the same as the last time he had seen her and, Harry realized, he look the same as well. He guessed that death took you back to when you looked the best you ever would. "I told you it wasn't your time then," She comforted.

He couldn't help but be angry at that. Throwing up his arms, he yelled, "And _NOW_ is better? After I've tasted what I could have had? After having to do it to myself? That is how she is going to remember me!"

Lilly took him in a tight embrace, letting him sob into her shoulder before saying, "Would you have rather you not know your son at all or lived as a husband or won the quidditch world cup or see your dad remarried to someone who will take care of him and your siblings?"

He shook his head and looked down at the shriveled piece of what used to be a human soul that was cursing at him from the corner. It was because of this—this _thing-_that he had had to bewitch the bludger into killing him. The final piece of Lord Voldemort died with him on the pitch and now it was cursing him for it. Harry knew that in a few more moments he would have to move on through the fog and the mist into a new frontier and take the mangled soul with him. "I guess you're right," he sighed.

"Mum always knows," Lily said smiling. "Now come, I must help you two cross over."

"Wait."

"What is it, my son?"

"I need to make sure they will be alright."

Lily looked at him for a moment before nodding. "You can be granted this much."

Instantly, the Fog cleared and he saw Hermione sitting stonily on their bed dressed all in black. Ron was next to her sporting bloodshot eyes, but they were currently studying Hermione's. She barely blinked, barely moved under his gaze as tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

"'Mione?" She didn't respond. He continued on. "Sirius and James will be staying in the house just down the hall. They will see to Sean until you are feeling a little better."

No response.

"They can stay as long as you need them to. All of us are here for you, okay? Don't hesitate to ask for anything."

At this she nodded, still not looking at him as he hugged her awkwardly before standing and leaving the room.

Harry held his breath, hoping that the spell would work properly. He had tried it a few times to varying success. He only hoped that it wouldn't let him down now.

He sighed in relief as just like clockwork, the letter he had written popped audibly into existence right behind Hermione on the soft bed they had once shared. She jumped, looking wide eyed around the room before turning and seeing the thick envelope behind her. With trembling hands she picked up the bundle. By the looking her eyes and the increased tears, she recognized the handwriting.

With shaking hands and she broke the seal and took out a folded piece of parchment and another envelope—this one addressed to Sean Potter. Setting down the other envelope, she shakily unfolded the letter and read:

_My Dearest Hermione,_

_I want to start this—the hardest letter I have ever had to write in my entire being—with love. I love you and Sean more than life. I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone and you saved my life the day you told me that you were pregnant with Sean. So I must apologize for leaving both of you. I hope that someday you will be able to forgive me. But you must understand that this was the only way._

_Please do not blame yourself. It is for your future and our son's future that I did this. Please don't think me a coward. Leaving you was the hardest thing I have ever done. Saving you is my final courageous sacrifice. With my death comes the death of the final and accidental Horcrux made by Lord Voldemort. If I had stayed, it would have eventually caused me to do things that I would regret. I could already feel it taking over me, locking into my frustration and regrets and twisting them. I left my research for the proof of this hidden below the lowest drawer in our dresser. It proves what I fear you have already known for a long time, but were afraid to admit to yourself. _

_Trust me, love, there was no way you could have done anything to fix this._

_Please look after my dad and kiss Sean everyday and tell him stories about us making trouble at Hogwarts. Remember the happy times. I count myself gifted to have loved and known you both. As for the others, let them believe that I died by accident playing a game that I loved. I know it is a lot to carry, but this is my final request. No one but you would ever understand and I can't risk doing that to my father when he had lost so much already. _

_Stay strong for Sean. He will need you. Enclosed in this envelope is a letter I want you to give to him on his first day at Hogwarts. Please make sure he gets it and knows that I love him._

_Darling, I cannot wait to be reunited with you. Please don't be too quick about it! I want to watch you live a long and happy life. Always let me live in your memory. I pray that the images will be kind even though I have hurt you so by doing this. I will be dreaming of you until the day we meet again. _

_With all the Love that I possess,_

_Your Harry James Potter_

As she finished, her knees gave out and she curled into a ball on the floor and began sobbing as she clutched the letter in her hand. Harry's heart broke as he watched her wanting nothing more than to reach out and hold her one last time. He had never felt more useless in his whole life. She cried and cried until her cries faded into the sounds of fitful sleep. Her eyes were swollen and red as he took a step forward.

Without thinking, Harry knelt down and gently lifted her off the floor and onto the bed tucking her in snugly. He didn't ask how he could do it, he simply treasured the moment. It was then that he saw that her eyes were open and watching him.

"Are you going to haunt me?" she croaked, her eyes full of hope.

Sadly, Harry shook his head. "I have to leave you soon. They granted me a gift to see you one last time."

"They? They who?"

_Leave it to Hermione to ask a question like that at a time like this,_he thought. "I don't know yet."

"I am very angry at you."

"I know, and I'm sorry." He his hand against her face wanting to memorize the feel of her skin. "I will miss you."

She looked at him with sad brown eyes, wanting to tell him so much, but getting the feeling that she only had a few more moments. "I love you."

"And I love you." Then Harry asked the question that was holding him there. "Will you forgive me?"

Hermione was quiet for a few more seconds before answering. "Someday, yes."

He smiled. That was good enough for him. "Good-bye, love," he said leaning down and kissing her forward.

Then, without another he word, he wasn't there anymore. Hermione stared off into the darkness, still crying, but not as badly as she had after the letter. The room felt more empty, he bed felt more cold, her life felt more hollow. Yet as she turned over and stared at his empty side of the bed, she felt more relaxed than she had. She may have lost Harry, but he had saved the world for her and their son.

Almost as if he had been called by her thoughts, a soft knock on her door announced the arrival of Sean. "Can I sleep with you, Mummy?" He asked.

Hermione wiped her eyes and quickly stuffed the two letters under the mattress. "Yes, darling."

Thumb in his mouth he dragged his stuffed hipogriff onto the bed and crawled under the covers. In an instant, he was out.

Pulling her son close, Hermione closed her swollen eyes and kissed her son on his forehead before settling into the bed herself. Somewhere in her heart, she could breathe a little easier. The air in the house, though sad, felt a little cleaner. So she drew breath and whispered into the dark, "Good-bye, Love," before drifting off into a final deep sleep.

~*\/*~ **FIN** ~*\/*~


	22. Loss Alternate ending

**A/N:**** Here is ending number two. I will be doing a post script on this to give a little explanaition on some things. Not too much though. Remember to review after this chapter! I will try my best to answer any questions you have. Again, thank you so much for sticking with me! 3  
**

The locker room reeked of sweat that hit like a wall as she entered the room. It had become familiar over the years, but it was still a bit of a shock. All around her, People were moving about with pregame jitters. Some were fine tuning the already immaculately groomed twigs in the latest broom put out by Firebolt. While still others were swinging beater bats around and making pregame jokes about the match they would soon be playing against Wimbourne Wasps. Amidst all the confusion, Hermione weaved her way though the sea of pumped wizards and witches carefully adjusting her son's hand so as not to lose him as the crowd greeted him enthusiastically.

Finally, behind the rows of benches, past the empty shower stalls and the metal lockers that were painted deep purple with a golden star she found the person she was looking for. He stood in front of a large white board with animated stick figures bouncing in formation. Occasionally he would raise his wand to change the positioning of a certain character before resuming his careful study. He was so engrossed, that he barely noticed Hermione walk up behind him and whisper into his ear. "I liked it better when the purple X was doing that weird swirly thing around the board.

Harry smiled and took a deep relaxing breath as he leaned into his wife.

"Daddy!" he heard a small voice say just before the source hit his leg in a big hug.

"Hello there, Sean!" he said picking up his son and turning to give his wife a quick kiss. "What brings you into the belly of the beast?"

"I brought you a present, Daddy!" he said turning expectantly to his mum.

Hermione reached into her small hand bag and pulled out a piece of paper. A grin broke across Harry's face at the site of the stick figure version of him—complete with Lightening bolt scar on his forehead—zooming on his broom chasing an overly large golden snitch. Hermione had clearly enchanted because the figures were actually moving around on the page. "That is the best drawing I've ever seen!" Harry exclaimed swinging Sean around in a circle. "Thank you so much!"

"Did you see that I even got your scar from defeating the bad man!" he said proudly.

"I saw it! Now, I think that your Aunt Ginny had something for you over at her locker. Why don't you go check it out so I can talk with Mummy."

The second Sean's feet hit the ground, he was barreling off in the red head's direction.

Harry wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her in a way that might not have been appropriate in front of his teammates, but he didn't care. He pulled back and smiled down at her. "I love you!"

She leaned against his chest and sighed, listening to his heartbeat. "And I love you." raising her head so that her mouth was pressed to his ear she whispered despite the fact that no one could hear over the noise. "How are you feeling?"

Harry stiffened, but didn't let go. Instead, simply kissed her hair and whispered, "Not so well, but I have a game to focus on. They are counting on me."

Hermione pulled back and examined his face worriedly. At only twenty-five, he was already showing signs of wear. His hair had flecks of gray and his eyes had bags under them from lack of sleep. He constantly looked as if he were recovering from a bad bout of flu. In the past year however, things had been getting worse. When sleep did visit him, his dreams were filled with nightmares of the man he had faced nearly five years prior taking over his body and one by one lilling the people he loved. She had been working round the clock trying to figure out a remedy, but so far nothing had worked. "I wish there were something I could do," she said helplessly, running a finger across his forehead tracing his scar before cupping his cheek.

"We could talk to someone. You know? Tell them what _really_ happened that night. Maybe that has something to do with it."

"Harry, we've been through this! According to my research," Harry had a flashback of her in school telling him random facts about Hogwarts, "who actually performed the curse has nothing to do with what we are dealing with here."

"But—"

"Harry," she cut him off, "I cannot be the hero of the people that you are. I won't do it! I don't want the glory."

"Neither do I!"

"I know you don't! But I am sure that who or who didn't take down You-Know-Who has nothing to do with anything. Please don't ask me again..."

Harry sighed. "I'm sorry, love." He reached out and pulled her back to him.

As he held her, Hermione couldn't help but feel that she was letting him down and she didn't know why.

"It's almost time," he said, looking at his watch over her shoulder. "You had better take Sean and find your proper seats."

She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss just as Sean came running up to her holding a full sack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. He was babbling on about boggie flavor as Hermione turned with him to leave Harry to study some last minute plays.

Before she could fully turn, however, Harry grabbed her sleeve. She turned to him a questioning look on her face. "I know you are trying," he said pulling her into another bone crushing hug and giving her a kiss that made everyone in the vicinity whoop and cheer. "I love you."

She didn't respond immediately, but continued to look at him with questions floating in her mind. The kiss reminded her of something, but she couldn't remember what. Just then, and announcer's voice boomed about the room and pitch announcing ten minutes left until the start of the game. "I love you too," she said as Sean gave Harry one last hug, as they both headed out of the locker room.

_You know you don't really love her_, a cold voice taunted him in his head.

"Shut up!" Harry said through clenched teeth trying to shake the voice from his mind. He had never told Hermione about how the dreams were slowly morphing from taunts into his sleep to taunts in his head.

_You know I'm winning, Potter,_ the cold voice said so loudly that the noise of the locker room was suddenly shut out. _You are weakening. Soon this will no longer be your body, but mine! Won't it be ironic? The boy who saved the world turning into the one who will conquer it once more. You know I had toyed with the idea of creating a new body for myself, but I think I might just keep yours!_

A searing pain pushed through Harry's temples. The scar that was the mark of the evil piece of soul he carried burned unbearably on his skin. All of a sudden, it was like he was in his dreams once more being dragged backwards towards a doorway. Beyond the arch was a blackness that he feared more than the taunting, more than the other terrors. In every dream he had always been able to break free of the force dragging him by turning on him and locking him in the room instead. This time, however, he couldn't fight as hard. The pain was too much. He had allowed himself to become too weak.

With one final push, Voldemort pushed him through the door in his mind, locking him tightly behind the bars. Harry screamed terrified as the last essence of the most evil wizard of all time walked away laughing at his victory.

"HARRY!" Someone shouted shaking his shoulders violently.

Voldemort blinked several times, trying to adjust himself in the new body as he desperately tried to keep said body's owner locked up tight. The sensation was filthy, sharing a body with a half-blood. Yet it was good to be free of the prison that the Potter boy stuck him in surrounded by the awful love of his son and wife—the disgusting mudblood. The only way he had been able to survive was by twisting the hatred and regret that spooled within Potter. Even if this last Horcrux had been made by accident, he was glad that it had at least happened with someone old enough to carry some bitterness about life. If he had been younger and filled with more love and happiness, Voldemort feared he may never have been able to manipulate his freedom.

"Harry?" a redheaded witch shook him when he didn't respond. "Are you okay? You were having some sort of fit." The rest of the quidditch team surrounded him looking concerned. "Do you want us to get the medic?"

A broad very un-Harry smile spread across his face as he struggled to his feet still fighting for control. "No, I'm fine. Better than fine."

Ginny looked at him confused and nodded to the other players who went back to whatever they had been doing before. She waited until they had gone to put a hand on Harry's shoulder. He looked at it with disgust, calling on rusty acting skills to keep from killing her on the spot as she touched him with her blood traitor hands. "Listen, I know you have been having trouble sleeping. I've talked with Hermione and Kate about it. If you aren't feeling up for this, I can cover for you and we will just substitute in one of the alternates in my place."

"No, no," Voldemort quickly adjusted his voice as it sounded more high pitched than Harry's. "Just been a bit ill. I'm feeling well now, though."

Ginny nodded uncertainly, but didn't move away.

"I'm fine, really!" he could barely contain the cruelty in his voice. "You can go now."

Ginny looked a little hurt, but she forced herself to ignore it. "Aren't you going to talk to the team before we head out onto the pitch like you always do?" She shouted at his retreating back.

Voldemort had already picked up his broom and was halfway to the door. He stopped in the middle of where everyone stood and gave them all a look so terrifying that it sent shivers around the circles though none of them knew why. "I think I'd rather we just get on with it."

Ginny nodded and raised her voice that now trembled with fear. Something was different, something was wrong. "You heard the man! Let's wipe the floor with these chaps!"

A halfhearted cheer went up as they all took broom in hand and walked out onto the pitch. Eying Harry, Ginny walked out next to him trying to put a finger on what was different about him. She mounted her broom, watching Harry shake hands with the other teams captain. He was stiff as they all took to the air. Just the referee tossed the quaffle straight up, she caught one final glimpse of his as he made his way to fly high above the field. What she saw almost made her drop the quaffle.

As he looked at her and smiled she could have sworn, before he turned away, his eyes flashed red.

~*\/*~ **FIN** ~*\/*~

**Post A/N: Alright, so I know that the question of the hour floating around is probably, "Why did the Horcrux take over Harry in this one and not the other?" I have been pretty faithful to cannon themes throughout this story, so I want to explain myself. Here's my reasoning. **

**I figure that at the moment that Hermione cast the unforgivable curse on Voldemort, his curse was rebounding on him as it did in cannon causing him to cleave his soul just like it happened in the book. I deduced (though it is never really said) that Harry's scar is a sign of the Horcrux-hence why it is in this story as well. If you think about it, Voldemort has always been able to manipulate people's negative emotions to get them to do what he wants. In the books, when Lily and James are killed, Harry is still too young to keep hold of any real bitterness or hatred in him. He is, in all senses of the word, pure. In this version, Harry is still good, but his isn't pure. He just watched Voldemort kill his mother after being told the Deatheaters practically beat and raped her to death first. He is going to have bitterness and anger and regret that he didn't get there sooner. This is something Voldemort can get a handle on. You can see in the books after Cedric is killed, how Voldemort manipulates Harry using that bitterness and sadness to make him lash out at everyone around him. I think if Harry were older and more inclined, Voldemort would have been able to defeat him much more easily because let's face it, adults are jaded. That is the reason the Horcrux is able to take over.**

**I want you to also keep in mind that this whole internal dialogue between him and Voldemort is going on in the first ending as well, but because he has made up his mind to die he is able to use his last bit of strength to keep the Dark Lord at bay. Either way you feel about suicide, I think what he did in the first chapter is more noble. It is very similar to what he did in the beginning. **

**And why did he do it during a quidditch match instead of just doing it at home or something? First off, the Horcrux wants to protect itself so he couldn't really manage hanging himself of wrist slitting. Second off, Harry wanted to protect Hermione from the ridicule ripple effect that follows suicide. He didn't want to look like a coward in front of her and his kid. So he died a hero giving the world a gift that he would never get credit for. It was more like killing Voldemort than himself anyway. **

**If you guys have anymore questions, please review/PM and I would be happy to answer you. This fan fiction is so much more than what is on the page, I just couldn't get it all out _and_ bring the story full circle. Hell, I even wrote out a scene that is Harry telling his dad that Hermione is pregnant that might make an appearance as a one shot one day.**

**Until then, thank you for reading my rant. Thank you for reading my story. Just thank you! **

**~Oli  
**


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